The Demeter Chapters
by Forgotten Narrative
Summary: When the original X-Men come together in 1962, Belle Yanos, a young teacher with many talents and many scars, takes a leap of faith with Charles Xavier and his mission. She follows her heart to a new and better life, but will her greatest triumphs be overshadowed by her greatest failures? Better yet, can Belle save her friends and herself from her worst demons? First Class Trilogy.
1. Chapter 1

**Book 1**

 **Chapter One**

Her name was Belle Yanos. That was her birth name, the first of many to come. Born in 1934 to a young female school nurse and a young male teacher, her family had just enough to survive. However, her mother was forced out of her job due to her pregnancy and her father due to the Great Depression hitting the school. They were looking for jobs during her first three weeks as a newborn before tragedy struck. The collision between their taxi and a cargo truck killed the driver instantly and left Belle and her parents fighting for their lives. However, Belle was the only one to survive. The poor one-month-old couldn't comprehend this, but she unintentionally used her genetic mutation to drain and absorb the life from her parents to survive. She was isolated in the hospital when she continued to drain from others to heal her untrained body. And so she learned to heal herself. Doctors were astonished, but people, in general, were disgusted at the "demonic" child.

She was transferred to an orphanage, and she was raised by a tired woman in her late forties named Jane. Now, Miss Jane was a stern woman who whipped her children into shape, never a smile upon her face. But she knew little Belle Yanos was a strange one and made the mistake of getting attached. The girl grew, sporting curly dark brown hair and big crystal blue-grey doe eyes. Freckles could sometimes be seen on her nose and cheeks and by the time she was three, her hair was as long as she was tall, tangling between her feet when she tried to walk too fast. Miss Jane would take her to the roof and cut her hair up to the beauty mark she had in the dead center of her upper back. The cut hair would fly away with the wind and sometimes even land on unsuspecting people who would pass. The process was repeated every three months, the girl's hair growth abnormally fast.

Miss Jane knew what the government knew: Belle was different. So they tagged her file. She was under no circumstances to be adopted nor taken into foster care. And so, she stayed at the orphanage, watching as her "brothers" and "sisters" were taken to happier places. Some of them got adopted. Others were put into foster care. Some grew of age to leave legally. Others just didn't make the journey in the orphanage. Little Belle was homeschooled once she turned five and it became even more obvious to Miss Jane and the other children that she was different. She absorbed material quickly, learning her ABCs and simple operations in a matter of days. The older children ended up teaching her material two years above her academically and would have taught her more had the Japanese not bombed Pearl Harbor in December of 1941 and forced the Americans into World War II in 1942.

The oldest of the boys from the orphanage were drafted along with our Little Belle, who was only eight at the time. Miss Jane tried to fight it, the boys tried to fight it, all of the children in the orphanage tried to fight it, but the government took her nonetheless. The day they were to be collected, all of the children stood on the veranda, the oldest boys lined up by the front steps with their duffle bags and Little Belle at the very end of the line with her small worn _Pluto the dog_ backpack on her shoulders. Miss Jane came out and stared at the children who were being taken away. She looked at her boys and tried to look strong before saying to them,

"Blood doesn't come off with soap and water. It stays forever so be careful out there."

She then looked at Little Belle and her strength left her. Miss Jane knelt in front of the eight-year-old and stared at her. She didn't say a word, only scooping the little girl into her arms and holding her tightly. When the officers came, the boys went quietly, but Miss Jane held onto Belle in the hug. She refused to let go of her. In the end, they took the girl from her arms forcefully and Belle cried as Miss Jane took a beating for trying to fight back. All of the children ran back into the house, the older children forcing them inside. When it was over, Belle was placed in the car with the boys and the men drove away, the orphanage becoming smaller and smaller.

War shaped her. Belle became a medic, the best medic the Americans had. Her mutations allowed her to heal people with her hands and her mind, but that wasn't what made the government proud of their little pet. No, they were proud of the ability she possessed but didn't know about, the ability she used as a babe to survive, the ability to drain life. She saw many gruesome effects of war and washed them away, but the girl bore scars that couldn't heal. Plenty of her patients were grateful towards her, but many and most feared and despised her. Not because she was a mere child holding their lives in her tiny inexperienced hands. No, they feared and despised her for her power. She was the freak, the spawn of the devil, the mutant. She kept a journal in which all of her personal thoughts went, her diary. And every page was scribbled on, front and back, margins, corners, everywhere. Lots of the words were blurred with teardrops that fell from her cheeks at night and the horrid stories were lost in blobs forever.

The only good thing Belle had during the war was her private tutor, Caroline. She arrived expecting to teach a fourth grader about writing essays and plants, but she found a young girl mentally prepared for middle school and high school material. Caroline was happy to deliver. The two became close friends, but Belle wasn't aware that Caroline was German. She, her brother, and her sister were assisting the United States during the war, but despite living with their American mother, their estranged father was a high-rank Nazi official. When such information was uncovered, the three were arrested and held as captives. Belle continued her work but often snuck over to see Caroline. One day, Belle was called to the General's tent. Upon entering, she noticed Caroline and her siblings being restrained. The General had a horrible order for Belle to carry out and when she initially refused, he pulled a gun on her and ordered her. She was to drain the life out of the prisoners, torture them for information. She did as she was told, tears streaming down the then nine-year-old's face. The brother gave some information, but the sister gave very little. Belle had to press her even more and got a little bit more out before she stopped. She then had to turn on Caroline, who began begging Belle not to hurt her. Belle, in turn, cried greatly as she tortured her, Caroline's screams forever etching into her mind. The tutor gave no information and the general loaded his gun, giving her new instructions. Kill. Belle bawled, begging the general not to force her to do such a thing, but the general wouldn't budge. She killed the sister first, trying to be as painless as possible in her death. She did the same for the brother as well, but when she got to her friend, she didn't get the chance to minimize the pain as the general fired a shot into the German woman's hip. The bullet cracked her hip and sliced through her organs, internally ricocheting painfully. Belle panicked and tried to ease her pain with healing, but the general shot her arm, growling at her to follow orders. She ended up killing Caroline as fast as she could to take away her pain. And her arm healed fine, but she didn't. In her journal, she wrote _blood doesn't come off with soap and water; it stays forever_ with the date and Caroline's name underneath.

She was given another tutor and she continued to excel while under war conditions. Her journal grew with stories and tears as she grew older and more beautiful. People treated her the same as always and she just took it as it was given. She never lost her attitude towards the world, always so hopeful and always so bright. That doesn't mean it was easy. God, it was so hard to hold herself together every day and night, but she managed, discovering the key to internal peace. No complaints. All smiles. And then came the night she overheard the generals. They didn't know about her telepathy. In fact, she didn't even know about her telepathy until that night. She laid in bed, almost asleep when she heard their voices. Like echoes in a dream, they discussed a plan. Dr. Klaus Schmidt was the target and she was the bait. Espionage. The plan never went into effect, mostly because it never got the chance.

That same night, tragedy struck. The camp was bombed and only one survived: little Belle Yanos. The now ten-year-old woke up alone and deserted in the midst of a wasteland, her head foggy from a dream of a man named Sebastian Shaw saving her. The dream would be a hazy memory that wouldn't come back until many years later. After that night, she was transferred with a new mission. She was to learn how to fight. She was to be a part of the troops on June 6, 1944, the great day the Allies knew as D-Day. She learned how to shoot and attack and fight over the course of three months. Belle was supposed to spend her eleventh birthday in a firing range, but she opted to walk a mile off from the base and having a lonely picnic. The moment was quiet and perfect, but it was missing one thing. Belle wanted a big oak tree to climb on so she could see the world around her, the world beyond the battlefield. Her yearning for the tree was so strong that a tree began to sprout a few feet away, but she didn't notice until she packed everything and stood to leave. In that instant, Belle knew she could never be normal and she could never get away from the one thing she feared the most: herself.

The invasion of the beaches of Normandy was a success and Little Belle Yanos survived the battle. She had been placed in the same squadron as her brothers from the orphanage. It was a bittersweet reunion considering the circumstances, but a reunion nonetheless. On the ground, one of them took a bullet to the thigh protecting Belle and the rest broke some bones or twisted something out of service to the country so once the battle was done, she took them to a medical tent and healed them. Her brothers didn't know of her power, but they all loved her with such a great amount of love that her powers only strengthen it along with their desire to protect her.

The war finally ended September 2, 1945, and twelve-year-old Belle Yanos was hugging her brothers goodbye in front of her gate. She was flying back home to the orphanage while they were going off to college. They promised to write letters and watched her small frame board the plane wearing her _Pluto the dog_ backpack, still intact though it had dirt smudges. When she arrived at the orphanage, a warm reception awaited her on the porch with open arms. Belle got to meet her new siblings and rekindle with her old siblings, Miss Jane watching from the front door. When she finally reached her, Belle wrapped her arms around Miss Jane's waist and held on tight. That night at dinner, the room was overflowing with laughter and stories of the orphanage, so many memories Belle would just have to imagine. Suddenly, the telephone rang and the laughter immediately ceased. Belle looked around confused by the silence.

"During the war, a phone call could mean bad news, but now that the war is over, there's nothing to fear," Miss Jane explained as she reached for the telephone. Putting the top speaker of the handset to her ear, she responded to the other person with a generic greeting. The children decided not to speak, simply because the habit was still present. They all noticed her eyebrows furrow. "She just arrived this afternoon." They all looked at Belle before rushing out of the room in a quiet scurry and leaving Miss Jane and Belle alone. Miss Jane tucked her available hand into the pocket of her apron. "I don't understand...she's only a child, not even close to eighteen…" Her confusion turned into shock. "Are you daft? You can't...b-but she...sir...please, I'm begging you. She's just a child..." There was another pause before Miss Jane exploded with rage."Three days?! How dare you! She can't…" Her shoulders slumped. "Please...she's just a child...you've already taken her childhood, her innocence…" A few moments later, she put the handset back down and wiped away a few tears before turning to face Belle, who was staring at her food quietly.

"Are they taking me away again?" she whispered, afraid to look up. Miss Jane sat next to her and took her hands.

"They want me to release you." Miss Jane was shaking slightly and Belle looked up at her.

"R-Release me? Only the big kids get released…" Miss Jane let out a bitter laugh and squeezed her hands slightly.

"Only the big kids go to war. You're different, Belle."

"How different?"

"...The boys sent me letters. I know you have healing hands, dear."

"But...what about the rest?" Miss Jane stared at her for a moment.

"You can do more?"

"Miss Jane, I hear whispers...and I'm not crazy. I hear people think...like how I know you're scared of what's going to happen to me...about the house going into bankruptcy." She believed the little girl wholeheartedly and held her tightly to her bosom when she saw the girl began to cry. It took her a few moments, but she noticed the flowers in the middle of the table change. She had just picked the hydrangeas from the garden that morning and they were suddenly dead and wilted. She looked down at the child, noticing the black lines painting themselves in curled details on her little arms. The girl finally stopped crying and moved away from Miss Jane, wiping her tears away. "Miss Jane, w- what's wrong with me?" The older woman cupped her face.

"Listen to me closely dear. Nothing's wrong with you. You're special. Beyond special. You're amazing, outstanding, perfect. But not everyone will think so. You need to be careful. Your gifts...people want them, people are scared of them, and you need to protect yourself. Do you understand me?" She let go of the girl as Belle nodded, staring directly at the flowers. She knew her powers had killed the flowers and reached out to them, bringing them back to life. Putting her hand down, the designs on her arms faded away. Miss Jane simply nodded at the young girl and led her to the other children. She tried to work something out to allow the girl more than three days at the orphanage, but on the third day, the phone rang again. If Miss Jane didn't release Belle, the orphanage would go bankrupt and all of the children would be taken away from her. She had no choice. So with a heavy heart and tears in her eyes, Miss Jane had Belle pack the little belongings she could call hers and had to close the door on the brave little twelve-year-old with the special powers.

She learned to live on the streets, usually identified as a street rat orphan by people passing by. However, she was grateful for everything she had, despite how little it was. She had her _Pluto the dog_ backpack, a couple of books she found forgotten on a park bench, her journal from her time in the war, a handful of pens, a blanket, and an umbrella. The bus driver knew her by name and always allowed her to hitch a ride to the stop at the library. She would spend her days there, helping the librarian restock and reorganize the shelves and getting paid $5 an hour under the table. That was her life since she left the orphanage: take the bus, work at the library, walk to the park, sleep under the bridge. It was a cycle that tired her greatly, but she did what she had to do to survive. Finally, when she turned thirteen, she decided to register herself for public high school. The looks on the faces of the ladies at the front desk were priceless.

Belle was too smart for high school, entering her freshman year in all advanced courses. She passed the classes with ease despite her lack of resources and passed all of her standardized tests with flying colors. The teachers and administrators were so astonished by the young homeless girl with a brilliant mind that they made a plea with the government to give her a GED at the end of her sophomore year; she was approved. Belle graduated at the age of fifteen after only two years of high school. She continued to work at the library during the day once she graduated, taking on a night shift at a local diner. The owner, Yvonne, reminded Belle of Miss Jane and so Belle grew to confide in her. By the time she was sixteen, Yvonne bumped her to be a full-time waitress and took her into her home, a small studio apartment. Belle got to sleep on the couch every night and for the first time in four years, she had a home.

She studied at the local community college for the next four years, working towards a bachelor in education while still working with Yvonne, who kept her on board for a little while longer before giving her a push to apply for an elementary school in the next town over. To her surprise, she got the job as the kindergarten teacher and starts teaching at the age of twenty-one, still working the night shift at the diner and living on Yvonne's couch. The summer after her first year, she had enough money to buy an apartment of her own a block from the diner. And so, little Belle Yanos was on her feet for the first time and everything was normal. Until she crossed paths with Charles Xavier eight years after her life stabilized.


	2. Chapter 2

Book 1

Chapter Two

It was early October 1962, a normal Tuesday afternoon for twenty-nine-year-old Belle Yanos. It was time for her to say goodbye to her kids for the day and release them to their parents, so she had them lined up nice and straight. When they arrived at the pick-up area, she started bidding each of them goodbye. Two men approached her as she distractedly noticed them, her focus on dismissing her students.

"Who are you here to pick up?" she said, her voice kind and melodic to the slightly older men, sporting a slight British accent she had picked up in the war and never lost.

"No one, miss. Are you Belle Yanos?" the shorter of the two said in a charming voice. She looked over and tilted her head curiously, her focus more on them. Especially on Charles Xavier. The two of them made eye contact and two shades of blue met.

"Are you parents?" she questioned cautiously. To her surprise, Charles didn't answer her.

"No, ma'am. We came to talk to you, in private if that's alright?" the taller one said. She looked between the two, unsure, but nodded her head as the last of her children were taken home. She led them to her colorful classroom and took a seat at her desk, where colorful papers were neatly stacked in piles. The men looked around for chairs, but there were only small chairs made for the small kindergarteners. Charles pointed at one and gave her a questioning look. She flushed slightly.

"My apologies for the chairs. You can try to sit in one if you'd like but it's fine if you would prefer to stand instead," she said, trying not to watch as Charles pulled a chair up and sat in it slightly uncomfortable. Erik let out a hearty laugh and stood beside him. She then looked at both of them expectantly, pen in hand. "You requested to speak to me, gentlemen?"

"Yes, though I believe some introductions are in order. My name is Charles Xavier and this is Erik Lehnsherr." She gave Charles a curt nod, trying not to make direct eye contact with him again. Instead, she pulled a stack in front of her over and began reading the papers.

"Why are you here? It's not every day two men come searching for me by name." The men looked at each other as she tried to grade, feeling Charles stare at her.

"The government is creating a new division and we're looking for recruits," Erik said. Belle scrunched her nose but kept a calm face. "It's for….special people." She looked up at him slightly, her eyebrows scrunching together.

"Special people?" Erik opened his mouth to respond, but Charles held his hand up to Erik and continued the explanation, staring directly at her.

"People who carry the X gene, a gene that allows an individual to have special powers specific to them. We call them mutants," he said calmly. Belle's hand was shaking as she graded the papers, trying not to look up at them. Charles could hear the voice in her head saying, of course, they found me again. Haven't they done enough?

"And you assume I'm one of them." It wasn't a question. It was a clear as day statement. Charles noticed her shaking hand and scooted forward, placing his hand on top of hers. It stopped shaking and she looked at him hesitantly.

"We know you're one of us, Belle," Charles said softly. She shook her head in disbelief and got up from her seat, walking to the windows with her arms crossed in front of her. Charles looked at Erik. Wait for me in the car he said to the taller man, who simply nodded and exited the room. Charles got up and followed her to the window, standing beside her. "Belle, I know we're asking a lot of you, but-"

"It's not you. I just….." she trailed off as she stared at the flowers the kids had planted. She raised her hand slightly palm up and curled her fingers upward, the plants following her motion and green peeked out from below the soil. "The government sent you here for me, didn't they?" Her eyes were closed as if she were trying to sense something.

"Actually, I found you." Her eyes snapped open and looked at him. He chuckled and put two fingers to his head. I'm a telepath. I was using a device that expanded my range and found you. She stared at him, simply blinking. Unsure what to do, he cleared his throat and looked outside again. "Turns out the government has a file on you, yes, but I requested it." At this, she slowly nodded and looked away.

"What did you learn about me?" Obviously not enough he thought. She chuckled slightly and for a moment, it was as though everything was in peace, balanced. The silence grew awkward and Charles scratched the back of his neck when he realized it.

"I know that you're a war survivor, that you were an orphan, that you graduated high school early, that you're a mutant. It was mostly empty for a file."

"So no details." He turned and stared at her for a moment, watching her carefully. He didn't realize he was staring until she looked at him and their eyes met again. Something was forming between them as time seemed to stand still. And then Belle realized it didn't actually and whipped her body completely towards Charles.

"What time is it?" He fumbled to see his watch before stuttering the time. It couldn't have been more than 15 minutes since he originally saw her at the pickup area. She raced to her desk and started packing papers without saying a word. Her bag on her shoulders, she turned towards him. "I'm so sorry but I need to go." He began to protest and followed her out the doors, down the hall, to the parking lot, and to her car. She attempted to open her car door, but Charles pushed it closed and had her pinned to the car. At that moment, they both stared at each other.

"Hear me out, okay?" She looked at him sadly. I really have to go… he could hear her thinking. She wasn't thinking about getting away from him. She was being sincere. He sighed and released her, staring into her eyes. "Where can I find you again?" She gave him a shy but flirtatious smile. You can figure it out. And I hope you come alone next time instead of having your sidekick tag along. He couldn't help but smirk at her. "Are you a telepath, my dear?"

"Until then, Charles Xavier." With that, she opened the door again and slipped in. He backed away and let her go, his attention so focused on her that he didn't realize Erik came up behind him.

"Well? What now?"

"Now…now I play her game."

* * *

Tuesday and Friday Updates.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Belle tied an apron to her waist and walked the block to the diner, a bag on her shoulder filled with papers to grade. She set the bag down behind the counter and got to work, putting a smile on her tired face. That was her life for almost a decade: work at school, go home to shower and eat, work at the diner, grade papers during slow hours, go to sleep, repeat. It was just her life. There was a ding from the kitchen.

"Order up, baby girl!" Yvonne shouted, putting the order on the window sill.

It was almost 10:00 pm and the flow of customers went from slow to dead. Wiping her hands on her apron, Belle balanced the dishes and served them to the elderly couple in the corner booth. They were usuals for Tuesday nights and usually the last real customers of the night before closing hour at 1:00 am. She plopped herself onto one of the stools at the breakfast bar and continued to grade papers. By midnight, the diner was empty save for Belle and Yvonne, who sat next to Belle and organized her piles of work. Yvonne could see that Belle had been reading the same paper for ten minutes and chuckled.

"What's got you in a twist? You've been reading that paper for way too long." Belle looked at Yvonne and rubbed her eyes, putting the paper down.

"I know. It's just...I've got something on my mind," she whispered, biting her lip. The older woman noticed and stopped organizing to face her.

"Something or someone?" A blush crept up Belle's cheeks.

"I met someone earlier today and…I don't know. He's something special, that's for sure." Yvonne stared at her for a moment before nodding and going back to her organizing. The two fell into a comfortable silence, Belle back on track with her grading. Another ten minutes later, Yvonne glanced over at the girl and huffed.

"Honey, you're working yourself to death," she said, giving the young girl the stank eye.

"I'm doing what I have to do to survive. It's not like the opportunity of a lifetime is going to randomly walk through that door," she mumbled, finishing one of the stacks. Just then, the doorbell chimed and footsteps wandered in. Belle didn't bother looking back, though she could feel her mind suddenly become heavy. Yvonne was the one who turned to him.

"Hello, sir. What can we get for you tonight?"

"Do you by any chance have any tea?" Belle sat straight up and whirled her body around to face an exhausted Charles Xavier, who perked up at the sight of her.

"Yvonne, brew some Earl Gray and go home. I can handle this and lock up," she said, surprised not to find any edge in her own voice. The older woman looked between Belle and Charles, but nodded and gave her young worker a kiss on the forehead before disappearing into the kitchen. The heavy feeling returned and Belle's head snapped towards the front door, looking for his car and his partner.

"Where's your friend? Erik, was it?" He nodded, keeping direct eye contact with her. The heaviness got worse and in response to the pain, she clenched her fists and felt the faint lines begin to draw themselves on her forearms. Charles stumbled back slightly as his mind was pushed far back into himself and he took a moment to recover.

"He's not here. I wanted to keep looking for you, but he decided to go back."

"Back? Where is back?"

"The government facility we're residing in at the moment." She couldn't help but release a bitter snort.

"Ah yes. Where they're housing their mutant pawns, correct?" Charles didn't respond, instead deciding to step closer to her.

"What's your mutation, love? You never said-"

"You never asked." The response had been slightly playful and Charles picked up on it, moving a closer until he was directly in front of her stool, her body fully facing him.

"You know I'm a telepath-"

"That can't be all there is."

"Well, there's a lot to it, love." Belle leaned back with her elbows against the counter behind her as he leaned forward slightly, one arm grabbing hold of the counter.

"You're a telepath, aren't you?"

"Technically, yes. But there's a lot to it, love." She gave him a wink before swiftly moving out of his reach and ducking under his arm. Smiling to herself, she disappeared into the kitchen. The tea was finishing up and Yvonne was out of sight. I need a new game plan. She's playing with me. She giggled to herself as she finished the tea and poured it into a teacup. Yes, I am, love. She exited the kitchen and walked back in to see Charles sitting in a booth, hands folded on the table. Rolling her eyes at the smug look on his face, she turned off the lights in the kitchen and almost all the lights in the diner, leaving only the light that illuminated that area. She placed the porcelain cup in front of him and rested her chin on her hand after sliding into the opposing booth. He took a sip and winced slightly.

"It needs something…"

"Peppermint? Cinnamon? Lemon?" He looked at her for a moment and realized she was expecting an answer and stuttered.

"Oh erm…..I suppose it could use some lemon, but it's-"

"You wanted to see my mutation?" He nodded. "Shut up and watch." She cupped her hands on top of one another and closed her eyes. Charles watched in awe as black lines began to dance on her forearms, creating patterns of vines and delicate flowers. A purple color began to appear and color the flowers and her cupped hands seemed to be emitting light from the inside out. The light grew stronger until it exponentially weakened and disappeared. The markings stayed but faded slightly as she opened her eyes and outstretched her cupped hands. Removing the hand on top, Charles admired a perfectly grown lemon attached to her hand by a vine. She didn't wait for him to respond as she got up and grabbed a knife from the kitchen. She raised the knife to separate the fruit and the hand and he noticed her hesitation.

"Wait. Does it hurt when you separate from it?" She simply shrugged and let the knife slice the lemon off. The vine curled into her palm before melting back into her skin and the tattoos faded away. Charles didn't care about the tea anymore because he couldn't stop staring at the woman who was cutting a lemon for it.

"So you're a telepath who can grow plants from her hands?" She stopped cutting and slid into his booth with him. Their eyes met again.

"Think broader."

"You can control plants as a whole."

"Broader." Belle thought his expression was cute as he tried to think of what she could do. She could feel him trying to enter her mind again and she clenched her fists to force him out a second time. He jerked back slightly with a wince.

"I don't mean to be so harsh, but my mind belongs to me and I don't appreciate wanderers."

"My apologies. It's a habit…I'd be lying if I said you didn't interest me." She grinned flirtatiously and leaned closer to him.

"I interest you?" He flushed and looked away. Taking his reaction negatively, Belle bit her lip and backed away, not looking at him.

"Life." His head whipped in her direction and stared for a moment.

"Excuse me?" She slowly turned her head, her confidently flirtatious attitude suddenly gone.

"My mutation. I create life, manipulate life, destroy life, anything and everything life."

Charles was astonished. He noticed one of her hands on the booth and put his own on top of it.

"That's incredible…"

"Don't lie. I know it's intimidating, scary."

"No, you don't understand…" He moved his other hand to her chin and turned her face so she would look at him. She had a particular look in her eyes, broken look and he couldn't help but yearn to fix it.

"That's incredible. You're incredible. You can make life and save lives! Is that why they drafted you?" She looked at him blankly. You don't understand. He simply blinked.

"The government forced me into war when I was 8. They wanted me to be a medic because of my powers."

"That…that must have been graphic, scarring."

"It was. But that wasn't the thing that scared me the most. I-" She opened her mouth to continue but felt all of the air in her lungs leave her. She breathed in and tried again, but no words came out. Her mind was trying to stop her from telling him and used her own powers against her. Eventually, she sighed and shook her head. Perhaps another time. Charles was concerned and confused, but nodded, respecting her privacy. They sat in comfortable silence, Charles's hand still on top of Belle's after a few moments. He moved his hand to take a sip of his tea with lemon and hummed in approval. Belle bit her lip and got up, moving to clean the breakfast bar with her back to him.

"Why are you here?" You know why. She shook her head. "Charles, what is it that you want from me? Why did you find me in the first place ?"

"Does the name Sebastian Shaw ring a bell?" She looked back at him and scrunched her eyebrows.

"God that name sounds familiar…"

"Maybe you'll know his alias, Dr. Klaus Schmidt?" A sudden memory came back to her and she gasped, dropping a rag.

"Yes. I remember him. They...they wanted to send me to join his research team for reconnaissance."

"And what happened?" She blinked for a few moments, trying to remember.

"Our camp was bombed and I was the only survivor. Everything and everyone was gone."

"I'm so sorry…" She shook her head somewhat aggressively.

"Enough apologies. Why did you ask about him? I...I blocked off that memory for a reason."

"He's a mutant. A bad one at that. He wants world domination, superiority. Power." She came back to the table and sat next to him.

"What is it you want me for?"

"He's building his army, his mutant army, and he's become a threat to all of us. The government wants to fight fire with fire-"

"They want mutants to fight mutants? That's awful…"

"Yes. Yes, it is. But it's our only shot-"

"It's their only shot. Not ours." Charles stared at her for a moment.

"Billy. George. Alexa. Phoebe. Amy. Tristan. Emily. Benny. Peter. Flora-"

"Why are you naming my students?"

"How many of them are mutants?" She remained silent, though one popped into her head.

"How many of them would Shaw spare?" Silence. She bit her lip.

"What kind of world do you want for them?"

"The best kind." She looked up at him and gave him a weak smile.

"I believe in a good world where mutants and humans should coexist. I doubt it's a real world. But I want it to be." He took her hands in his and looked her directly in the eyes.

"Join the team. My vision is one of a world where we coexist and this is the first step in doing so."

"...what about my life? My jobs, my kids?"

"Do you trust me?" She stared at him. Yes. He smiled at her. I'll pick you up here at the diner at 8 AM. I have to straighten some things out. She smiled and nodded. He watched her get up and finish cleaning the breakfast bar. Charles just couldn't help but smile at her working form. When she finished, he got up from his spot and opened the door for her with a dashing smile. After she locked it, she gave him a smile and a nod before walking away. A minute or so later, she was right in front of her apartment building. Climbing the stairs, she exited on the second floor and placed her hand on her door before opening and closing it.

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Tuesday and Friday Updates.


	4. Chapter 4

Book 1

Chapter Four

When Belle arrived at the diner after her fateful meeting, she entered to see Charles and Yvonne talking at the breakfast bar. The older woman looked over at Belle and enveloped her in a tight hug.

"Oh, honey I'm so proud of you! This wonderful professor told me about the position you're taking at his boarding school," she cooed as Belle looked at Charles. Play along, love. Nodding, she accepted Yvonne's hug. After the hug, Belle walked over to Charles and didn't hesitate to pull him into a hug. He responded tensely. Now it's your turn to play along, love. She felt him chuckle before he wrapped his arms around her and she couldn't help her heart from soaring. Once the hug was over, Charles went to get Belle's bag, which she had left behind at the door. Seeing him take it to his car, Yvonne pulled Belle closer to her. "Darling, I'm proud of you. You have a better job than anything you've ever done and you seem to be making good progress with Mr. Boss Man." Belle looked at her strangely.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he was gushing to me about you before. Plus that hug? Honey…" Suddenly, Belle understood what Yvonne was trying to hint at and blushed heavily.

"Yvonne, I met him yesterday. There's nothing there." Yvonne took her hand in her wrinkling one.

"...yet?"

"...maybe yet. Maybe never. Are you sure you're okay with me taking this...job?"

"Darling, of course, I am! I've wanted you to make more of your life than waiting on people in a diner and getting underpaid at a public school." At that moment, Charles returned.

"Are you ready, Belle?" Nodding, she was quick to give Yvonne one more strong hug. Taking Charles's outstretched hand in hers, she allowed him the lead her to a car, opening the passenger door for her. She removed the backpack she had on her back and settled it on her lap. Pulling out a pen and the book she had been reading most recently, she opened her hardcover copy of Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West and wrote:

Yvonne

"It's the age of daring.

It's the only time we have.

We must live in the present.

We are young and alive."

Charles opened the door and got into the driver's seat, noticing the book on her lap. He chose not to ask as he started the car and began to drive. However, she could feel his curiosity and she gave in. I'm bad at saying goodbye, so I dedicate my books to certain people I say goodbye to and write a quote from the book that reminds me of them. She could see the curving of his lips into a smile. That's rather poetic and beautiful. She smiled and focused on the moving scenery, trying to distract herself. Eventually, both mutants got tired and proceeded to speak to each other mentally. The car was silent with the exception of laughter through the air was comfortable as they communicated without words. Finally, they reached a blocked government facility and as Charles helped her out of the car, she reached out for his arm, trying to relieve her nerves. He noticed her hesitation and took her hand in his. You'll be alright, love. She returned a small smile before he took her bag and they entered the building, hands still clasped together. Inside, Belle was greeted by a line of people. She recognized Erik and gave him a nod of acknowledgment which he returned.

"Everyone, I would like to introduce you to Belle Yanos," Charles announced. A blonde woman approached them and gave Charles a loving hug, something that caught Belle slightly off guard. The woman then turned to her with a welcoming smile.

"I'm Raven. It's nice to meet you, Belle." She then turned around and began to point at people, each of them waving as they were referenced. "That's Angel, Darwin, Sean, Hank, Alex, and-"

"Erik. It's a pleasure to meet all of you," she shyly responded, surprising Raven. The shapeshifter smiled warmly at the new girl before taking the bag from Charles's hand.

"I'll show you your room." Raven began walking but paused for a moment, looking down. "Charles, would you mind letting her go so she can actually follow?" After doing a double take, Charles released Belle's hand and stuck his own in his pocket while Belle blushed and scurried after Raven.

Belle looked around her room, feeling uncomfortable in the block cell. Her bag of clothes and books sat next to her twin bed, a wooden frame with a twin mattress covered by thin grey sheets. There was nothing inviting about the militaristic room, but Belle knew better than to complain. At least I have a bed to sleep in, a roof over my head, and a guarantee of having food in the morning, she thought to herself as she changed. Dinner reminded her of nights at the orphanage, always funny banters and stories filling the air. Her first night with the other mutants was no different, everyone excited to be around one another. Even Charles joined in to perform "magic tricks" with his mutation, causing Belle and Raven to fall into fits of giggling like two mischievous sisters. Just remembering the night as Belle undressed and changed into her pajamas brought a closed smile to her lips. Soon after, she turned off the lights and plopped onto the bed, ready for a good night's sleep. Rather quickly, she fell into a dream, one she wasn't ready for. Trapped in another block cell, she began fighting against the restraints of the metallic clasps that held her to a metal table. Everything was slightly blurred and heavy as Belle tried to release herself. A man suddenly emerged from shadows and smiled at her.

"Belle Yanos. We meet again." A memory flashed in her mind and she froze in her spot, responding with a shaky voice.

"You...You're the man who saved me during the bombing." He let out a laugh.

"It's more than that darling. Let me introduce myself. My name is Sebastian Shaw." Her body became rigid and a shadow crossed her cold face.

"Sebastian Shaw…where am I? Why am I here?"

"I just want to make sure you're on the right side of this war."

"There won't be a war." He let out a laugh. It wasn't a pleasant laugh to hear and Belle cringed as he approached.

"Child, you're so innocent. Tell me something, do you still think that it was fate that you survived that bombing?" She blinked, her jaw slackening the slightest.

"What?"

"Do you really think I didn't know about the Americans planning to send you my way? Their little spy?" She remained silent, only watching him carefully as he came to the edge of the table. "I know what they did to you, what they wanted you to do, what they forced you to do. I saw your pain and I saved you. I destroyed what they built and rescued you. I was your salvation." His words triggered alarms and she struggled against her restraints, suddenly fueled by anger at the realization.

"You! You bombed the camp!" Her fists clenched.

"I did it to free you."

"You killed those people!" Her tattoos started appearing.

"They were in our way."

"They were people, living beings!" Vines started growing from her fingertips. The vines began to form a dagger that settled in her palm.

"They were just humans."

"You're crazy-" She didn't get a chance to react as Shaw backhanded her face.

"You have a choice to make." His cold steely tone made Belle clench the blade and press it tighter to her skin.

"It's not much of a choice." Sebastian glared at her and called upon someone named Emma. A woman dressed in all white came to them and he disappeared, leaving the two. She cocked her head at the tied down girl. Are you sure you won't consider joining us? Belle shook her head. I'm sorry but I know my place. The woman scoffed and nodded to a window Belle hadn't noticed before. She backed away from the table as Belle felt the restraints open. The young mutant was slow to get up but it only took Belle those few moments to dig into the woman's mind, causing her to scream before Belle felt the block. Emma turned to her diamond form and growled at her.

"You little witch!" She came forward to attack Belle, but Belle used the incoming force to launch herself to the side and shove Emma into the table. She then took the vine dagger and stuck it into the back of Emma's left knee, penetrating the diamonds through weakened creases in the mineral from movement. Emma screamed in agony before whirling around and grabbing Belle by her neck, lifting the young teacher off the ground. The diamond hand tightened around her throat as her mind was completely invaded. It wasn't long before Belle was on the verge of unconsciousness and Emma pulled her closer. Remember this moment. Belle felt her body being thrown to the side but didn't collide with anything as a comforting but firm voice broke through her head. Belle. She opened her eyes and bolted straight up, gasping and grabbing at the bed sheets for dear life. Charles sat beside her on the bed and when her senses returned and she noticed him, she crawled to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and crying into his shoulder as her legs curled behind her. He held her tightly, refusing to let go. The door opened and the rest of the mutants came rushing in with a busload of questions. Go back to bed. I'll handle this. The others slowly backed away, closing the door behind them and leaving Belle and Charles alone together. Her sobs finally calmed down to slight hiccups and she pulled away slightly from his shoulder to face him. What happened, Belle? She didn't hesitate to take his hand and lift the fingers to her temple. He himself hesitated but she nodded and closed her eyes, ready for his presence in her mind. She showed him the dream and when it finished, opened her eyes with a gasp. They stared at each other for an eternity before Belle moved forward slowly and hugged him again. At that moment, she shed a tear and opened her mind to him. He was suddenly flooded by her memories of war. He watched as military officials forced her to kill a man and two women, one of them who was pleading out to her as a friend. He watched her writing journals and crying at night because of the horrors she saw. He watched her sleeping as the whole camp was being blown up by bombs and a sphere of energy protecting her bed. He watched Sebastian Shaw come forward, pull her half-conscious body out of the wreckage, and walk away. He watched it all. When he came back to reality, he looked at her with the kindest eyes.

"They did this to you and yet you still joined us. Why?" She gave him a smile and cupped his face.

"You were convincing. I believed in your vision and you made me believe in it becoming a reality. You're the reason I joined." He smiled brightly at her, pulling one of her hands from his cheek and against his lip to kiss it, leaving it close.

"Well, I'm glad you did." They stayed that way for a moment, simply staring at each other. Her legs were still tucked beside her body as she leaned forward and let her forehead rest on his shoulder. Belle bit her lip and tried to think but she just couldn't. Her mind was totally blank as he moved his unused hand to her face and brought it up to face him. His fingers trailed up her cheekbone and landed on her ear, tucking a strand of hair behind it. "You should get some sleep." It came as a ghost of a whisper, but she heard it and immediately shook her head. My dreams aren't safe anymore. He stared at her and sighed. Come with me. I can protect you in your sleep. She slowly nodded and scooted away from him, allowing him room to stand. He helped her up and wrapped her in his bathrobe before draping an arm around her shoulders and guiding her to his room. When they entered the room, she froze in place, a terrified look on her face. Charles immediately moved in front of her and held her face gently. "Do you trust me?" Yes. She wanted to hit herself for responding so quickly and without thinking. "You're here so I can protect you in your sleep. I'm not going to do anything to you." She stared into his eyes and, smiling weakly, felt her body give out, partially because of her intense attraction to Charles but mostly because of the sudden shock in her emotional state. He was quick to catch her and carry her in his arms, her half-conscious body stabilized. He took her to the bed and laid her down, putting a pillow under her head before sitting next to her. When she regained her consciousness a minute or two later, she saw him fiddling with her hair. She let out a chuckle. Dork. He smiled at her and pulled his arm away. "I need access to your mind. I know you are very strong at defending it, but you need to drop that barrier with me." She nodded and took a deep breath as she closed her eyes. He sorted through her mind and found beautiful memories: Yvonne teaching her how to bake a cake for the first time, her students bringing her dozens of flowers on her birthday, Miss Jane cutting her hair on the roof of the orphanage, her graduating and walking across the stage to see proud faces of the teachers and administration. He then came upon something interesting: a dream she'd had. The dream was blurry but Charles could make out the hand of a man reaching for her. Belle's hand slipped into the man's and she was led towards a garden overflowing with green. The man spoke to her, but he was muffled and soft so nothing was distinguishable. He came closer and Charles could faintly see that the man was actually him. A waltz began to play in the dream and the figment of Charles danced with her, though he knew she couldn't tell who it was. He decided to pull out of her head and rebuilt barriers around it as she breathed peacefully. He didn't want Shaw's telepath getting back in and ruining this for her. After a few minutes of staring at her, he felt himself doze off next to her, leaning against the headboard with her head shifted to lean on his leg. It was innocent and sweet, a picture perfect moment.

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Tuesday and Friday Updates.


	5. Chapter 5

Book 1

Chapter Five

When she first felt her senses returning, Belle reached out and grasped unfamiliar sheets from an unfamiliar bed, startling her into an upright position. Her bare feet touched the cold concrete and a shiver rushed through her, causing her to tug the bathrobe for warmth. The realization that it wasn't her bathrobe made Belle jump from the bed and back away, throwing the bathrobe off in fright. Where am I? At that moment, she noticed a note taped to the door of Charles. Just seeing his name eased her from her hysteria before she began to read.

Belle,

Please don't freak out. You had a nightmare last night so I brought you here to protect you. You're safe. If you're hungry, the kitchen is straight down the hallway on your right and a left at the junction. If you would rather change first, your room is the second left-hand door down the hall on your left.

Charles.

Belle opened the door and followed the instructions to the kitchen slowly but surely. Inside, she saw Charles drinking tea and playing chess with Erik. Her breathing became heavy and she knew what to anticipate so when they both welcomed her with warm smiles, she quickly moved to the refrigerator and turned her back to them. Her hands gripped the door handles as her nightmare came back in flashes. Sebastian Shaw and Emma Frost plagued her mind as Charles and Erik noticed the flowers on the counter and the hedges outside wilting and dying. The two men shared a look before Charles got up and walked closer to her.

"Belle?" She didn't turn to him, simply panting as she felt the familiar sting of Emma's invasion. His hand went towards her to land gently on her shoulder, but her hand snapped forward and grabbed his wrist, stopping his movement. Her eyes were open and dazed as she released the refrigerator. All Charles could do was stare at her arm, her flowers and vines completely exposed as her grip tightened on his wrist and she turned around to face him, her eyes directly on his.

"Train me." It was a simple but bold request, one that made his eyebrows shoot up and caused him to look over at Erik. Erik, in response, watched the scene in front of him and gave his friend a small nod. Charles thought for a moment before he looked back at Belle.

"Is this because of last night?"

"It's not because of last night. It's because it will happen again. It's because of the future." Charles saw her determination and nodded. Her hand loosened its grip on his wrist and slid down to his elbow, holding him just at arm's length. Erik rolled his eyes as they continued to stare at each other.

"Anyone up for a game of chess?" he said, catching both their attention.

That afternoon, Charles found Belle sitting in a corner of the courtyard reading a book. Taking a seat next to her, he was surprised as she moved one of her hands from her book to summon an apple from a tree nearby. The apple landed in her hand and she offered it to him silently. In awe, Charles took the fruit from her hand and watched as she summoned another for herself. The book in her hand closed as she turned to face him and took a bite into the apple, the book put off to the side.

"Are you here for the company or training?"

"A little bit of both, if I'm going to be quite honest." A small smile formed on her lips.

"So what do we start with?"

"Guarding. Belle, I need you to put up barriers in your mind. I'm going to try to break them down. Are you ready?" She hesitated, searching his face for a moment before letting her eyes dart to her lap.

"Are you...sure about this?" she whispered, staring at the bite mark on her apple.

"I'm positive. No fear." Sparing him a moment's glance, she closed her eyes and created a blockade, pushing everything out of her mind and holding her secrets in. Charles watched carefully for her expression calm, her face looking young and at peace. After a moment, he pushed forward, thinking there would be a space for him to enter somewhere. To his surprise, her mental barrier was sealed tight. Belle could feel his presence getting stronger and stronger as he continued to push again and again, but he eventually gave out. When she finally let her guard down slightly, she could hear his ragged breathing. Eyes now open, she immediately noticed his posture slumped over slightly. Concern flooded her as she reached out to him, pressing her hand to his shoulder. When he looked at her, she could see the smile on his face and all she could do was blink in confusion. "That was brilliant, Belle," he whispered breathlessly through his widening smile. Her shoulder eased as he sat up straighter and gave her a look of approval. "Now me." She froze and her calm demeanor dissolved, Charles's statement catching her off guard.

"What do you mean?" she asked with a humorless chuckle, tilting her head slightly.

"Now I'm going to build a barrier and you're going to penetrate my mind." Just the thought of invading someone in such as intimate and personal way made her scurry to her feet, shaking her head.

"No, Charles, I-I can't-" she stuttered as she made to leave. He interrupted her by getting on his knees and gently grabbing a hold of her wrist. He carefully guided her to a kneel in front of him, hand still pressed against her pulse.

"Don't hold back on me. This," he said as he taps his temple, "is your focus. Open it." She bit her lip.

"...what if I hurt you?" They stared into one another's eyes.

"I trust you," he whispered softly. She remained quiet but nodded, the pair of them sitting back on the grass facing each other. His eyes fluttered shut, giving Belle a moment to admire the creases and dents in his face, obviously from long nights of studying and stressing. She understood the life of a telepath, the voices always present and the edge of just existing never really disappearing. Noticing his eyebrows no longer furrowed, she began to peek into his mind. She stepped lightly and prodded into him carefully but easily. He didn't even realize she was inside until he felt her pull up the memory of him meeting Raven. He tried to push her out, but the more he pushed, the more rooted she became, sorting through smaller details of his life. He knew she was avoiding major things on his mind out of respect and decency and tried to create resistance, but he just couldn't push her out. After a moment or two, she pulled out, a terrified look on her face. She could feel the wetness of her tears sliding down her cheeks as her guilt immediately nipped at her.

"Charles, I'm so sorry. I should have just-"

"Belle, that was fantastic! You did exactly what you were supposed to do-"

"No…" her voice trailed off before she turned to him. "I should have stopped..." His hand reached out to her and she hesitantly looked up at him before complying, Charles giving her hand a light squeeze.

"You did what you were supposed to do. You didn't pry. You didn't hurt me. Please...don't feel guilty for being so powerful."

"...I could have hurt you..." she whispered, looking away and biting her lip.

"But you didn't," he reassured, gently squeezing her hand. After a moment of silence, he tilted his head slightly towards her. "...did you see something you wanted to talk about?" Again, she hesitated, but she seemed to let out a breath that he had caught on.

"The voices," she whispered, "that you heard as a child. They were everywhere. They were tearing you apart." He stared at her for a moment as he recalled the unbearable mental pulses that came from the neverending flow of words.

"Yes. Yes, they were...I was 9 when I first heard them. And I have no doubt that they did the same to you." She turned her head and suddenly their eyes were trained on one another.

"I was 10 when I first heard the voices. I thought they were just my guilty conscience, so I didn't think much of them...they didn't become a problem until after the war…" Belle cleared her throat slightly. "I was homeless for about four years. In that time, the voices really got to me, especially when...the bridges I slept under amplified an entire city of thoughts. It was...horrendous." He couldn't help but stare, pain seeping into his chest.

"...you were homeless?" His stare was so intense that Belle looked away, staring at her apple nervously. She took a shaky breath before continuing.

"I enrolled myself in high school when I could. My teachers would pack lunches for me so I didn't need to worry about working for food. And then I graduated early and got the job at the diner with Yvonne. She opened her door to me once she realized how in need I was…" she whispered, her eyes fixated on the pierced side of the apple. She didn't look at him when Charles covered her hands with his, afraid of what she would feel if she looked into his eyes.

"You will never have to live on the street again. My doors will always be open to you." A small smile came across her lips and she whispered a faint thank you before pulling her hands away. With that, she took her book and walked away, afraid to look back and catch his stare. Charles didn't follow behind her, his attention captivated by the apple she abandoned. When he picked it up and turned it to the side that had no bite marks, he found that the skin of the apple had followed the shape of her hand and had molded to mimic her fingers. He put his hand on top of the markings, practically feeling her hand under his palm.

That night, Belle laid in her bed wide awake. Remember this moment, Emma Frost had ingrained in her mind. She couldn't stop thinking about it. After countless seconds and minutes and hours tossing and turning, she noticed the ivy clawing up the walls, her arms sending familiar pulsations as her tattoos reappeared, and rolled out of bed with a groan. She didn't realize she had walked to the kitchen until she plopped herself on one of the bar stools, rubbing her temple. The darkness of the night surrounded her and heightened her senses as she tried to seal her mind from the world. Eventually, peace overcame her and she fell asleep, her head on her arms as she slumped onto the bar countertop.

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Tuesday and Friday Updates.


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry I was late with this chapter. I had a busy Tuesday yesterday so I stayed up late to do some final edits and upload ASAP.

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Book 1

Chapter Six

When Charles walked in the next morning, he smiled at her sleeping frame before removing his robe, draping it over her, and preparing himself some tea. When his cup was ready, he sat down in the seat next to her and pretended to read a newspaper that had been lying around. Sensing his presence next to her, Belle jolted from her sleep abruptly and nearly lost her balance on the stool. Charles watched her amused as she tried to pull herself together. Clearing her throat, she barely managed a whisper to him.

"How long have you been here?" That was when Charles noticed the slight bags under her eyes and his amusement left him, the curl on his lips flattening.

"Not very long. What are you doing here so early?" She crossed her arms and fidgeted slightly, seeming to not notice the bathrobe sitting on her shoulders.

"I couldn't sleep last night. I needed to take a walk..." The edge in her voice made him get off his stool and stand in front of her, gently turning her to face him. His thumbs brushed careful circles on her shoulders as his fingers put a comfortable amount of pressure against her clothed skin.

"Belle, is this because of Shaw?" She didn't respond, simply staring at him with a certain detachment. "...I thought training would make you feel more at ease-"

"So did I…" she trailed off, her voice soft and vulnerable. Charles gave her a weak smile, but he could tell she wasn't actually looking at him.

"...come with me." Not meeting his eyes, she followed him back to her room, his hand barely on the small of her back. He had her lie back down on her bed and eyed the vines that had climbed up the wall. Belle merely shrugged at the curious glance he gave her and pulled her sheets to cover herself. His warm fingers met with her temple and the mere sensation caused her to let out a silent puff of air and allow her eyes to flutter shut. After easing her mind, he felt her she fall into a comfortable dreamless sleep. Charles gently moved his fingers away and began to admire her calm form as he hesitated to move from her side. Her dark curls were coming out of their loose braid and splayed out by her side and her soft freckles seemed to cast shadows against the pale glow of her light skin. After a few moments, Charles shook his head to clear his thoughts and left her room, gently closing the door behind him as he returned to the kitchen where he had left his cup of tea and the unread newspaper, a soft smile finding its way onto his lips.

Belle had a late start to the day after Charles helped her back to sleep, not waking up until well after noon. Mindlessly pulling her arms through the sleeves of the robe, she walked to the kitchen to find it empty, all of the dirty dishes from breakfast and lunch in the sink untouched. After eating a bowl of flavorless cereal, she placed the bowl into the filled sink and glanced at the mess. Without a thought or hesitation, she picked up the sponge and began scrubbing and cleaning. She didn't seem to mind as time flew and her fingers wrinkled just slightly. Finally, she heard footsteps enter the parlor as she dried the last dish and put it into place.

"Belle?" Raven called as she spotted the young teacher opening one of the cabinets. Belle looked over her shoulder in Raven's direction and gave her a smile as she placed the final plate on top of the others.

"Hey. What's up?" she asked as she folded the rag in her hand and set it back on the counter before approached the shapeshifter, who shrugged.

"Oh, nothing. I just didn't know you were up yet."

"I just got up and came here." The two girls sat next to each other on the stools and exchanged smiles. After a moment, Belle remembered her training with Charles and sat up slightly with a certain degree of tension. "Have you seen Charles today? I asked him to train me and I was...kind of hoping for another lesson." Raven smiled to herself for a moment before responding with a more serious look on her face.

"Actually, I think he's in meetings all day with Erik and Moira. Who knows what they're about or when they'll be back." Belle slumped slightly. She knew what they were probably talking about and just the thought made her nervous to no end. Suddenly, Raven perked up in her seat and broke Belle out of her silence. "Speaking of Charles, isn't that his bathrobe?" she asked, a mischevious smile appearing. Belle did a double take as she looked down at her attire and couldn't help but blush. She tried to cover herself with the robe before realizing that it had the opposite effect and let go of the fabric awkwardly and crossed her arms hesitantly.

"Um yeah, I guess. Charles is letting me borrow it." Raven couldn't help but chuckle.

"Well, that's awfully kind of him. It looks pretty cozy. Do you like it?" The blush darkened and Belle dipped her head to look at the ground, her cheeks burning.

"I-I'm going to change. I'll see you later." Raven chuckled to herself as the girl scurried away to her room once more. When she closed the door, she leaned her back against it trying to calm her flush. Slowly pulling the robe off of her, she held it up to look at it. Hesitantly, she pulled it closer to her and hugged it, burying her face into the neckline. When she inhaled, she could smell his cologne and felt her mind go fuzzy as she remembered every smile and little touch he offered her since they'd met. The swirling happiness in her mind was cut off as she felt a sharp jab to her lumbar and let out a strangled gasp. She managed to catch her footing as she leaned forward and almost fell, pulling the robe away from her face to gasp for air. The sudden pain was gone, but the moment of agony lingered in her mind as she stood up straight and looked down at the robe. Gently folding it, she placed it on her bed and stared at it for a moment before digging through her own things and changing.

Emerging from her room a few hours later in her own clothes, Belle brought a book to read in the courtyard until there wasn't enough light to make out the words in front of her. Instead of retiring for the night, she noticed the commotion in the lounge and decided to move with the others for the company. The young mutants were hanging together while Charles, Erik, and Moira were still out. Angel and Raven sat on one couch, Belle took a stool by the bar to continue reading the book, and the boys were spread out across the other sofas and chairs. Everything was relatively calm and quiet until Raven jumped in her seat and sat up with excitement.

"We should think of code names," she blurted out. Everyone looked at her and upon noticing the attention, she elaborated. "We're government agents now, so we should have secret code names. I want to be called Mystique." Belle silently closed her book and turned her attention to the group, interested in the conversation.

"Damn! I wanted to be called Mystique," Sean whined jokingly. The boys chuckled at his antics.

"Well, tough. I called it," she said before shifting her form to match his. She put a scowl on her imitation of his face before saying, "and I'm way more mysterious than you." Everyone started applauding as she changed back, even Sean himself. "Darwin, what about you?" Darwin clapped his hands together and leaned forward in his seat.

"Well, I don't use my real name so "Darwin" is already a nickname, and, you know, it sort of fits. Adapt to survive and all." He looked over at the fish tank and snapped his fingers. "Check this out." He got up and taking a quick breath, dunked his head into the water. The others could see gills grow on the side of his head and the group proceeded to applaud, a look of awe settling onto Belle's face.

"That was incredible," Angel said, smiling. He threw her a flirtatious wink before he pointed at Sean.

"What about you?" The curly haired boy leaned back on the sofa smugly.

"I'm going to be…" he paused, deep in thought. Then he nodded to himself. "Banshee." Belle couldn't hold back a snort.

"Why do you want to be named after a wailing spirit?" she asked. He moved to the edge of his seat.

"You might want to cover your ears," he responded. Although everyone shared confused looks, they listened to him and pressed their hands to cover their ears. He seemed to be concentrating for a moment before letting out a small frequency, shattering the entirety of the glass. Everyone gasped and clapped, some laughing while others still in shock. Belle couldn't help but think about how Charles and Moira were going to kill them when they saw the damage. She didn't get to ponder for long though because someone grabbed her attention.

"Your turn, Belle. What's your mutation?" Raven asked. Everyone turned towards the girl and she nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Oh uh...I'm a telepath and I can control living things. Mostly plants though." That was a lie, but in her opinion, it was too soon for them to know that extent of her powers. After all, they had just met and she never had many friends growing up. To her surprise, Raven jumped in her seat with a bright smile on her face.

"No wonder Charles likes you so much! He must have been so excited when he found you!" Belle could see her smile was genuine but blushed at the phrasing. She tried to form words, but simply ended up clearing her throat as her cheeks warmed up.

"Show us what you can do with plants," Angel interjected, trying to be friendly with the more reserved girl. Hesitantly, Belle went over to the broken window and jumped out and onto the grass. Finding a good spot a few feet away, she extended her arms and concentrated on growing a giant rosebud, not paying mind to the crowd she had attracted behind her. Her tattoos protruded against her skin and showed off their majestic coils and purple blossoms as a giant white rose grew at a rapid pace, its growth stalling at about ten feet high. Lowering her arms and feeling her skin return to normal, she turned back to them as everyone stared at her in awe and applauded her, her blush acting up again.

"I have the perfect name for you," Hank announced confidently in the midst of the moment. Everyone looked at Hank, who then blushed at the attention as Belle tilted her head in curiosity. "We should call you Demeter," he said, causing Belle to let out a chuckle.

"Like the Greek goddess?" He simply nodded and a smile grew rapidly on her face as she stood in front of them with a newfound confidence. "Demeter. I like it."

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Tuesday and Friday Updates.


	7. Chapter 7

Book 1

Chapter Seven

Sitting with Hank and Raven, Belle stayed with the group as their show-and-tell continued.

"My, uh, stage name is Angel," she said cheekily as she started taking off her jacket. Sean let out a wolf whistle as the piece of clothing came off and she turned to expose her back. "It kind of fits," she teases as the tattoos on her back came to life and became iridescent dragonfly-like wings. Raven shoved herself to the edge of her seat.

"You can fly?!" she gawked, Belle feeling a grin pulling at the corner of her lips.

"Uh huh," she responded, looking over her shoulder at them. "Oh and uh..." She turned to face the broken window and leaned forward slightly before launching projectile spit towards the statue in the quad. Her spit shot out like a ball of acidic fire and landed on the statues head, frying the stop of it. Everyone laughed as little puffs of smoke swirled over it. As she went to put her jacket on, she nodded in Hank's direction. "What's your name?" Not giving Hank a chance to answer, Alex took a swig from his beer and responded in his place.

"How about Big Foot?" Belle, who was closest to him, shoved his leg slightly to tell him to knock it off. However, Raven leaned over to face him.

"Well you know what they say about guys with big feet and uh..." she said as she scrunched her nose and picked up her drink. "Yours are kind of small." She took a nonchalant sip as the room broke out in laughter and Alex raised his hands in surrender. Belle noticed the look Raven and Hank were exchanging and nudged Raven to give her a subtle wink.

"Okay now," Darwin said, calming down the giggles. "Alex, what is your gift? What can you do?" Putting his beer down, Alex started shifting nervously and looking at the floor to avoid eye contact.

"It's not..." Raising his eyes up, he looked around briefly. "I just can't do it. I can't do it in here." There was a pause of silence.

"...can you do it out there?" Darwin asked as he pointed in the direction of the flower and statue. And with that suggestion, the group got rowdy and encouraged/pressured him into getting out of his chair.

"Get down when I tell you, he mumbled as he passed them and hopped over the glass. The group followed and stayed in the corner behind the concrete, peering over at him. Glaring at them, he told them to get back. They responded by doing so for a moment before returning to their peering. "Get back!" he yelled at them, but none of them bothered to move from their spots. Muttering to himself, he formed blazing red rings that started to spin around his body. The first one he tossed narrowly missed the group, Hank pulling Belle back as Darwin pulled Angel and Raven back a bit too. The second ring flew over the statues head before the third one came and sliced it diagonally, severing its entire top half. The entire group broke out into applause, even Belle in awe of Alex's powers.

Afterward, the group decided to on some music and started partying. Belle took her seat back at the bar with her book while the girls danced and the boys hit Darwin with different items to see who could do more damage against his mutation. Hank ended up hanging upside down and the boys ended up breaking off one of the table legs. Hearing their laughter made Belle stall while reading her book and remember her kindergarteners. A smile graced her lips as she remembered the first day of school when she gave all of her students little pots and asked them to imagine their flowers growing. While their eyes were closed, she had all of the sprouts grow into fully grown flowers and told them that she would help them grow to be just like their flowers. They went crazy over the 'magic trick,' which was her favorite thing to do on the first day of classes. Just then, her thoughts were broken when Charles, Erik, and Moira appeared and the latter was furious.

"What the hell? What are you doing?!" she commanded in a stern voice. Suddenly, the music was turned off and everyone was attentive and on their feet, even Belle in the back. "Who destroyed the statue? And where did that giant flower come from?" Immediately, Sean scratched the back of his head.

"It was Alex," he said, Alex shooting him a 'dude, what the hell' look. Belle then walked forward quickly.

"Not the flower. I… the flower was my fault." Charles looked at Belle, disappointed.

"Belle-" he started saying.

"No, Demeter," Raven interrupted. "We have to call her Demeter. And it's not Alex, it's Havok. That's his name now." They didn't look impressed, but she continued. "And we were thinking," she paused to point at Charles, "you should be Professor X," and she paused to point at Erik, "and you should be Magneto." Erik looked at Charles.

"Exceptional," he said dryly before walking away. Moira stormed off in the opposite direction. Charles stood in front of them, all of their smiles gone.

"I expect more from you," he whispered. He began to walk away, but Belle ran after him, catching him farther down the hallway.

"Charles." He stopped to look back at her. When she caught up to him, she crossed her arms awkwardly. "Don't be so hard on them. They're young-"

"None of you are children, Belle. You need to be responsible with the gifts you've been given and this...what I saw tonight was the opposite of that." He tried to walk away, but Belle grabbed onto his arm gently.

"Then blame me for what happened. I'm used to watching over kids. I should have been the voice of reason. I should have watched them better. But don't do that to them." He turned back to her, hands in his pocket and a question on his face.

"Do what?" She let out a dry chuckle and extended her arm in the direction of the group.

"Make them feel like failures. Make them feel unwanted." Charles opened his mouth to say something, but Belle put a hand on his chest to stop him. "They've lived with those feelings their whole lives. They don't need it from you too…" His gaze softened and he sighed, placing one of his hands on the one that was against him.

"...they were being irresponsible with their powers-"

"They were embracing their powers. You weren't here to see it, but they introduced themselves and bared their abilities, abilities that have probably been suppressed their entire lives. Angel got to spread her wings and fly a bit. Hank took his shoes off finally and got to embrace his mutation in his feet. Alex...he has plasma rings! I mean, that's insane!" she laughed joyfully, a small smile tugging at his lips as she talked about the others. "...I got to use my powers past the extent of cool science experiments and magic tricks for the first time in years. And no one wrote it off as either of those...and I wasn't afraid of getting caught or being judged. When you brought us here, we finally felt like we had somewhere to go. You gave us approval, confidence, hope...don't take that away from us," she whispered. He stared down at her and saw a lone tear caressing her cheek. His finger brushed it away gently, his other hand still holding her hand to his chest while her other one fell to her side. Looking over her face for a moment, he softened.

"I'm sorry, love. You're right," he whispered. She nodded and leaned into his touch, her eyes closed for a moment. They reopened and stared in Charles's. The moment was intimate and both of them were leaning towards each other before Belle blinked and froze. Realizing what she was doing, she backed away awkwardly with a nervous smile."I'm gonna...go back. You know, talk to them," she whispered shakily. He nodded and watched her leave, still planted in his spot as her hand slipped away from under his. When she entered the lounge, she found the lights turned off and the room empty. Sighing, she made her way back to the bar and picked up her book before walking out again; she paused at the doorway and looked down the hall to see Charles still in his place. She bit her lip before walking in his direction again and stopping in front of him. They simply stared at one another for a few moments before Charles moved his hand to her cheek and got close to kiss her on the forehead. The way his lips brushed her forehead made Belle hold her breathe and tighten the grip on the book she had pressed against her chest. He pulled away and stared into her eyes with a small smile on his lips before whispering goodnight and walking off.

Alone in the hall, Belle tried to sort her emotions as they pulsed through her. Her mind started to relish the memory of his lips on her forehead and almost imagined the kiss going deep into the folds of her mind. Realizing what she was doing, though, she snapped out of her thought process and marched back to her room, cheeks ablaze. She changed back into her pajamas and braided her dark curly hair, keeping the tail loose. As she went to step away from her bed and turn off the light, she noticed Charles's bathrobe folded on the bed. Hesitantly, Belle picked it up and slowly pulled her arms through, reveling in the warmth it gave her. She couldn't explain how the article of clothing was capable of providing her so much comfort despite sitting in a cold room for hours. Blocking off any further thoughts, Belle turned off the lights and got into bed where she laid in utter discomfort. She still couldn't sleep on her own. _Charles? Can you hear me?_ she called mentally, holding her breath. She was desperate for sleep and he always seemed to know what to do. _Belle? Is everything okay?_ he responded softly. A small smile came across her face as she heard his warm voice in her head. _I can't seem to sleep again._ He let a warm chuckle ring in her mind. _I'll be right there._ And so she waited patiently, a slight smile on her lips. She didn't notice that the vines on the wall were beginning to sprout small blooming daisies. Grazing his knuckles against the door, Charles gave a soft knock before he opened the door and saw Belle look over at him with a small smile. He sat down next to her on the bed and chuckled slightly.

"Is this going to be our thing? I lull you to sleep every night?" She blushed as he stroked the side of her face.

"Think of yourself as a nightlight. Don't let it go to your head, professor," she whispered back playfully. He wrinkled his nose slightly.

"Hearing you call me that is rather strange. I don't consider you my pupil." She sat up slightly in her bed and leaned toward him.

"Except you're training me, are you not? Doesn't that make me your pupil?" she challenged. He let out a chuckle and watched her lean against her elbows.

"Under normal circumstances, yes. However," he said, flashing her a flirtatious smile. "I don't believe these circumstances are normal, starting with the fact that you are more powerful than I am. I like to think we're equal...team members...partners, even." Belle stared at him in shock as his eyes shined with admiration. A moment passed before he cleared his throat and broke the eye contact. "Raven told me you were looking for me. Something about another lesson?" Belle broke out of her stare and nodded awkwardly. "I'm sorry, I was in-"

"Meetings. Yeah, she told me. It's fine," she responded. They looked at each other again in a comfortable silence. His hand was still touching the side of her face, so he drew a circle on her skin with his thumb before brushing a curl off her forehead and pulled his hand away.

"I'm afraid I won't be around for any lessons tomorrow. Erik, Moira, and I are going to Russia. We're following a lead on Shaw." At the mention of the name, Belle jolted to sit up straight and one of Belle's hands reached out to grab Charles's upper arm while the other clawed at the bed sheets.

"What? Are you going after him already? We're not ready to face him and his men. We're not..." Charles let out a soft hushing sound as he took her hands in his and gave them a reassuring squeeze, his eyes staring into hers once more.

"It's just Intel. We're not going after him just yet. And I know you're not ready. None of you are." A shadow passed across his face, a look of disappointment evident as he licked his lips and let his stare waiver. "I've...been neglecting my duty in that respect...I haven't trained with any of you, save for our lesson yesterday. I just don't want to give the government a reason to use you. If they see progress, this will become a government task force."

"And you don't want that," she whispered sadly. Charles shook his head and stared at their hands, which were still clasped together. Belle gave his hands a squeeze before slowly pulling hers away and lying back down on the bed. He made a mental note that she was wearing his robe and gave her a warm smile before leaning over to press his lips right where her hairline met her forehead and leave a lingering kiss. "Goodnight, love," she felt him whisper as she felt him move his hand to her temple and send beautiful images into her mind, easing her into a world of unconscious fantasy as her reality blurred and her last thoughts were calm nothingness and his warm familiar scent.

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Tuesday and Friday Updates.


	8. Chapter 8

Book 1

Chapter Eight

Breakfast was quiet save for Moira, who tried to get the conversation flowing. Sadly, her good-natured attempts failed and the mutants at the table kept to themselves. Belle, in particular, was very quiet, acting more reserved than her usual shyness. After breakfast, everyone took off in their own directions, the dirty dishes piled high in the sink. After a moment of hesitation, Belle picked up a nearby rag from the counter and approached the sink, not realizing that Raven had returned. The shapeshifter smiled to herself and went over to Belle's side. In comfortable silence, Belle washed and Raven dried, the chore almost like a source of bonding. Once all of the dishes were back in their rightful places, Raven took the rag and plopped it on the counter.

"Charles and they should be leaving soon. I was going to go say goodbye." She turned to face Belle, who was sitting on the countertop behind her. "Would you like to come along?" She thought for a moment before nodding to Raven, the two girls then walking out of the kitchen and out front. Just so, Erik and Moira were already in the car as Charles slammed the trunk closed. Raven threw herself into his brotherly arms and wished him luck on the mission. Belle, in turn, waited patiently for their moment to end. When Charles noticed her, he released Raven and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before walking over. He extended his arms to her and Belle stepped into his embrace, warmth enveloping her as she rested her head against his chest and inhaled his dizzying scent.

"I'll be back soon. Hopefully, I can tuck you in again tonight," he whispered against her temple. She chuckled slightly but bit her lip. She could feel dread beginning to pool in her stomach.

"Please be careful…" she begged Charles, who in turn kissed her forehead gently before pulling away to look at her.

"Don't worry about me, love." He cupped her face for a moment before letting go and pointing at Raven. "Take care of each other, okay?" Raven came over to Belle and the two took one another's hand before smiling at Charles.

"We'll manage," Raven teased. Reaching out, he touched one of each of their cheeks before turning to the car and getting in. They watched him wave them goodbye as the car drove from sight. Back inside, they wandered the halls together. "Charles told me you brought a lot of books with you?" Raven asked at one point. Belle responded with a blush on her face.

"Yeah. I literally brought a dozen or so in my bag."

"They must be important to you." Belle chuckled to herself.

"They are." Silence flowed between them comfortably until they reach Belle's room. Upon opening the door, Raven gasped.

"Woah. You did that?" she asked, pointing at the vines with scattered daisies decorating the wall. Bell froze in her spot, caught off guard by her powers.

"I...yeah I did…I just couldn't sleep so I guess…" she trailed off uncertainly before shaking her head and walking over to duffle bag she brought, carefully lowering it on the bed. Belle pulled out a bunch of books from the bag, stacking them meticulously on the bed. Raven sat next to them and started reading aloud the titles.

"Slaughterhouse Five. The Book Thief. Wicked: The Life and Time of the Wicked Witch of the West. Sense and Sensibility. A Tale of Two Cities. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows? Why these specific books?" Belle couldn't help but laugh at Raven's observation.

"You said it earlier, they're important to me. Some were given to me. Others were found. A few of them were loans I never got to return. You know, the works." Raven nodded. The two went through the books for a while, Raven intentionally overlooking the dedications Belle wrote in some of them as she read through opening paragraphs.

"Did the nightmares go away?" Belle tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she scrunched her nose at the memory of them.

"Not exactly. But Charles has been helping me with my sleep."

"So that's why you have his bathrobe. He spends the night with you," Raven teased. Belle's cheeks were aflame.

"It's not like that. We're not-"

"Don't worry. I get it." Belle tried to come up with something to say, but Raven laughed at her speechlessness. "Belle, feel whatever it is you're feeling. It's okay. Charles is a good guy." With that, Raven rose from her spot on the bed and made her way to the door. Before she left, she paused and looked back at her. "By the way, the vines and daisies are cute. You should try decorating the whole room." With one last smile, she let the door click closed behind her and Belle looked down to see her hands clutching one of the books. Jane Eyre. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she looked at the book fondly. It was her book, the one she hid under her bed in the orphanage and dedicated to the girl she was when she came back from the war. Opening the cover, she read the words written in her young script.

 _Belle_

 _"I am not an angel and I will not be one till I die: I will be myself."_

Hesitantly, her fingers traced the worn lines on the cover, the coarse paper rubbing again the pad of her index and middle fingers. The sensation gave her an inexplicable burst of strength that urged her to reach for the other books one by one. She slid the next on onto her lap, taking a brief trail down memory lane as she smiled at the cover. Wicked: The Life and Time of the Wicked Witch of the West. She had only written in it three days before when she and Charles were leaving the diner. Her fingers brushed the cover out of the way and showed the page she was looking for.

 _Yvonne_

 _"It's the age of daring. It's the only time we have. We must live in the present. We are young and alive."_

The words felt as though they had been written in another life long gone, words she had discovered outside the diner after a particularly long and grueling shift. Naturally, she grabbed the book that came before it, playing with the thick softcover she had found relatively dry after a nasty afternoon storm on a park bench she sometimes slept on. The Book Thief.

 _Miss Jane_

 _"You've done enough."_

Gently setting the fairly worn book aside, Belle's fingers traced over the title of the next one. Slaughterhouse-Five. It was her parting gift from the orphanage when she was drafted. When she read it though, she was far too young at the time to really understand it. It wasn't until after the war that she eventually brought herself to read it again through different eyes and dedicate it to her first slaughter, her best friend. It brought a pang to hold it in her grasp, but she opened the cover nonetheless and read what was there.

 _Caroline_

 _"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom always to tell the difference."_

A sad smile graced her face at the memory of her old friend, her soft laugh faintly echoing in her mind. Belle's eyes managed to land on the last book with a dedication. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It was one of the few belongings she had brought to the orphanage when Miss Jane originally took her in. Apparently, the book had been left next to her car seat and had remained intact after the accident. When she opened the book, a black and white Polaroid of a young couple and a newborn slid into her hand. Inhaling shakily, she moved the picture out of the way and traced the words in her scratchy handwriting.

 _Mom and Dad_

 _"But they were not living, thought Harry: They were gone. The empty words could not disguise the fact that his parents' moldering remains lay beneath snow and stone, indifferent, unknowing. And tears came before he could stop them, boiling hot then instantly freezing on his face, and what was the point in wiping them off or pretending? He let them fall, his lips pressed hard together, looking down at the thick snow hiding from his eyes the place where the last of Lily and James lay, bones now, surely, or dust, not knowing or caring that their living son stood so near, his heart still beating, alive because of their sacrifice and close to wishing, at this moment, that he was sleeping under the snow with them."_

Staring at the people in the picture, Belle sat on her bed, reciting the quote for what felt like hours as she observed the young woman with long dark curls and a wide smile and the young man with well-kept light hair, a shadow of stubble on his chin, and a loving sparkle in his eye. Loud shouts echoing from down the hall broke her from her state and she quickly slammed the book shut, the photo confided within the pages of the book as she peered over at the others. They didn't have any dedications, but one day, they would. As the rest of the day droned on slowly, Belle decided to keep to herself for a bit due to the return of the unsettling feeling. She picked at the lunch she ate while in the kitchen and retreated to her room quickly after she had decided she had finished. Her afternoon flew by as she listened to Raven's advice and decorated the room with life. As she began to picture the room coming to life, she outstretched her hands as the textured vines under her skin started to rise and the flowers bloomed vibrant purple against her pale complexion. All of the walls had ivy climbing up mixed in with the daisies that were previously present along with trumpet vines, wisteria, honeysuckle, and jasmine blossoms. Where the ivy leaves hung lowly and brushed against the floor, grass sprouted and covered the ground, soothing her bare feet, and a large beige rosebud began to bloom in the center of the ceiling. It acted almost like a chandelier on the ceiling as it grew and blossomed, its large petals extending and pulling back to meet the ceiling's junction with the wall. Content with her work, Belle sprouted a large cremini mushroom to sit on and opened one of her undedicated books and began to reread it, the art on her arms fading away. An hour or so later, Belle heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," she responded, still reading the book. The door opened to reveal a stunned Raven admiring the once prison cell bedroom.

"This is beautiful, Belle! You did all of this?" Belle looked up and nodded with a small smile. She then extended her arm and slowly turned her hand upward, her arm pulsing just the slightest as another large mushroom sprouted next to her.

"Would you like to join me?" Raven returned her smile and sat with her, running her hand against the fresh grass.

"You seem comfortable with your powers now. I guess Charles's training helped?" Belle closed the book and gave Raven all of her attention, a shy smile on her face.

"Actually, our training was for my telepathy. This whole...life thing, it's a totally different matter."

"This is just your raw talent?" Belle looked away for a moment.

"With a lot of practice, yes," she responded, reflecting on her time in the medics tents during the war. Raven admired the room once again before giving her a sincere glance.

"Charles would be impressed." Belle nodded casually, playing off the slight tint of blush that rushed to her cheeks. The two chatted for a little while, the conversation light and fun. Raven took to telling funny and embarrassing stories about growing up with Charles and Belle in return recounted some of her adventures from the orphanage. And yet, despite the company in front of her, Belle felt something negative gnawing at her.

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Tuesday and Friday Updates.


	9. Chapter 9

A million apologies for being a day late. I wasn't home all day Friday and I hadn't finished my final edits on the chapter. I wanted to make sure it was well written altogether because this chapter is going to play a big role from here on out. I'm sorry I took so long to finish it. This should be a longer chapter. Thank you for being patient and sticking around.

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Book 1

Chapter Nine

While Moira and the boys were still out, the young mutants decided to meet in the lounge yet again, although the energy was a bit different. At first, everything was fine. Belle sat with Raven and Angel and started talking to them about life back home. The boys were having their own conversation across the room, sharing their own backgrounds. However, the talking fell short fairly quickly, the air fairly thick with tension. For most of them, she noted, Charles's disappointment was still echoing in their minds. For her though, there was just a feeling she couldn't shake off. It was a familiar feeling too. She felt it the night before she had found out she was being drafted, the night before the bombing, and she felt it then as she sat in that room. Something was coming. Despite the quiet, Darwin and Alex decided to play pinball, cracking jokes with one another to ease up the atmosphere. Belle chose to move back to her spot at the bar and pull out another book.

"Do you ever stop reading?" Angel asked, tilting her head towards her curiously. She simply shrugged and re-immersed herself in the book as she tried to shake off the anxiety. She tried to pin her uneasiness on Charles's absence, knowing that he was halfway across the world on a mission that could easily go horribly wrong while she was reading the same paragraph over and over blindly. She assumed it was just her worrying about her friend and mentor. While she was still trapped in her thoughts, some of the uniformed men outside started mocking Angel and Hank, disrupting the general peace. Darwin pulled the curtain to block their attacker's view of them, but Belle heard them protest. Rolling her eyes, she looked up from her book.

"Bunch of assholes." It came out as a growl, but she played it off by forcing her nose back into the book as everyone looked at her in surprise. Raven was the first to recover from her surprise, turning back to Angel.

"They're just guys being stupid," she shrugged. Angel scoffed, putting distance between them on the couch.

"Guys being stupid, I can handle. Okay? I've handled that my whole life, remember?" Raven looked down at her hands shyly. Belle watched out of the corner of her eye, trying not to let her throat tighten. "I'd rather a bunch of guys stare at me with my clothes off than the way these ones stare at me." Scrunching her nose for a moment, Raven took Angel's hand and tried to give her a sad smile.

"At us," she insisted. The moment became silent before distant thuds could be heard. Everyone jolted, the boys by the pinball machine looking around and Belle slowly closing her book as she opened her mind slightly. The thuds got closer.

"What was that?" she asked timidly, slowly rising from her stool as she tried to pinpoint anything past a lot of anxiety flooding her senses from every direction.

"I don't know. Something doesn't feel right," Darwin stated, starting to near the window that was blocked by the curtain. Belle's sense of dread pulsed through her again, forcing her to clench her fists in fear. She just couldn't pinpoint one voice in her mind as they all came to the window, Darwin drawing the curtains back. The courtyard was bare and empty in the moonlight. Slowly, they noticed the shadows of figures from above and everyone's eyes lifted themselves. Two men were floating in the sky with only the moon to illuminate their silhouettes.

"What is that?" Darwin whispered just as one of the men disappeared. The other one, one of their men, fell from the sky and landed right in front of the window, dead on impact. Everyone jumped backward, Angel holding her hands over her mouth and the boys exchanging panicked looks as Belle and Raven grabbed onto one another screaming. Just like that, it started raining CIA agents, men in black suits falling from the sky. In the spur of the moment, Belle ran to the window and put her hand to the glass, crouched down as she tried to sense any life in the fallen agents, desperately working quickly. A man began to shout at them to get away from the glass, but Belle continued in her search for survivors. Suddenly, a red man appeared in front of the men and they began to shoot at him. Belle, who was watching as the mutant disappeared and reappeared next to an agent before aiming the firing gun at the window, dove behind the couch with Darwin to her left, biting her lip to hold back her screams and tears. Fully broken out her concentrated state, Belle and all of the others felt the hairs on the backs of their necks stand as there was a swoosh sound coming from the window on the other side of the room. Looking to their right, the young mutants saw a tornado approaching. It went directly for the giant telepathic amplifier, but there was no time to react to the destruction of the machine as the red man attacked the remaining men in the courtyard.

"Stay here, my ass! Let's go!" Darwin shouted, running out the door. Everyone but Belle followed. She was tired of running away from the fight and instead focused on the red mutant, using her telepathic powers to subtly enter his mind. Azazel, she noted, was his name. Throwing her hands out in his directions, his body froze momentarily, confusion evident in the rapid movements of his eyes. There was no going back once she had control of him because he then knew there was a telepath around. Taking a shaky breath, she put all of her concentration into her hold on Azazel, failing to notice the return of the others as the remains of Cerebro floated into the storm. Despite the sweat on her brow and the strength of her will, she knew her powers were untrained and raw and she could feel him slipping from her mental grasp. He was able to break free of her weak mental grip to dodge some attacks and kill some more men before surveying the area. They made eye contact and he glared before resuming his job. The moment they broke eye contact, she dropped to her knees in ragged pants, only able to catch her breath when the tornado threw an agent against the other window and shattered it as well. She managed to get to her feet just in time to see that the tornado had disappeared and a man in a suit took its place, coming into the room while Azazel came through the other side. The red man glared at Belle just as the door opened, revealing the one and only Sebastian Shaw. Belle's jaw tightened at his mere presence, his face throwing bits and blurs of images in her mind. His face flashed before her as she remembered mumbling unanswered questions as the air around them turned black with death. Alex was holding her elbow as she blinked rapidly, trapped in a trance. Before he could say anything to her, the intruders started up their own conversation.

"Where is the telepath?" Shaw asked Azazel, who watched her with a calculated glare. Hearing his voice, her mind came back to reality in an abrupt manner, Alex's grip on her strengthening when she swayed slightly. He threw her a look of concern which she ignored as she glared at Shaw.

"He's not here," the red man whispered, his eyes still trained on her vigilantly.

"That's too bad," Shaw said before examining her for a moment and clicking his tongue in disappointment. "Well, at least I can take this silly thing off," he said as he slowly removed his helmet. He threw her a look to see if she would pull anything, but she simply clenched her jaw begrudgingly and unclenched her fists, knowing that his walls were currently too strong for her, a thought that boiled her blood. Disregarding her tense attitude, he turned to the rest of them and threw them his usual proud smile, laying on the charm to the uneasy young mutants before him. "Good evening. My name is Sebastian Shaw and I am not here to hurt you." Suddenly, a man burst into the room with a gun.

"Freeze!" he shouted authoritatively, causing everyone to tense in their places. If she knew anything about Shaw, she knew he'd take the quick way out of the situation and she steeled herself, closing her eyes for a moment.

"Azazel," Shaw started a low and quiet order, but Belle stopped him.

"No." Her voice was strong and opening her eyes, she stretched her arm and waved her hand in a semicircle. Before the man could react to her movement, he crumbled to the ground in an unconscious state and everyone looked at her in surprise. Her blue eyes pierced Shaw's cold lifeless eyes. "No more killing. Get to the damn point," she growled. Her friends were shocked at her sudden display of power, but Shaw simply chuckled with a simple nod, addressing them as a whole.

"My friends, there is a revolution coming. When mankind discovers who we are, what we can do, each of us will face a choice. Be enslaved," he looked at Belle and she clenched her fists tightly but kept a steely face as to not give him the satisfaction he wanted. He looked away and made eye contact with the others as he continued speaking, "or rise up to rule. Choose freely, but know that if you are not with us, then, by definition, you are against us." He proceeded to walk forward and stood in front of Belle. Extending his hand to her, he whispered in a calm voice, "I saved you once. I can save you again." She stared him in the eyes, fire burning behind them.

"I didn't need your 'saving' in the first place. And I sure as hell don't need it now. There are good people out there and I don't need your definition of 'salvation' from them." Amused by her response, he quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Really? Tell me dear, how many of those 'good people' actually know about your powers? Hmm? Most of the people who helped you never even knew and the ones who knew ended up turning you away. The orphanage didn't want you." She didn't even blink. "Your students never figured out that your 'magic tricks' were really just your way of practicing to keep your underused mutation strong-"

"That's not true-" she tried to hiss at him.

"Your favorite employer, landlord, and mother figure never knew what you were capable of before you skipped town to work at a fake boarding school despite having you around for how many years?" She winced slightly with shame, realizing she hadn't bothered to reach out to Yvonne since she left D.C. Belle went to say something, but Shaw cut her off. "And when that little friend of yours found out about you, didn't she fear you? You know, the tutor you killed? What was her name?" He had knocked the air out of her lungs with his verbal blow.

"...don't..." she barely managed, her eyes growing icy as she read his face and saw his growing amusement. She hadn't noticed how the rest of the team backed away from her slightly and she hadn't noticed the confused looks on the faces of Shaw's men. All she saw was his lips sneer.

"Ah yes. Caroline-"

"Why?" Her voice was cold and emotionless, her words coming out as a brutal hiss.

"I see your true potential. After all, I know your powers." He then tapped his forehead. "I've seen your potential." She paled and backed away slightly, more images resurfacing and pounding against the walls of her skull. She could feel his radiation as the bombs tore through the camp and his hand held her with an iron grip. Before she could feel her mind split in two like an atom undergoing nuclear fission, Raven took her arms and held her up as her mind cleared and came back to reality. With a satisfied chuckle, he back away slightly and turned to her friends, Belle weakly glaring at him from her place. "So, you can stay and fight for the people who hate and fear you, or you can join me and live like royalty. Kings," he said and, upon seeing Angel's face and recognizing her contemplation, extended his hand to her. "And Queens." After a moment of thought, Angel moved forward and took his hand.

"Angel…" Raven whispered next to Belle as she released her grip.

"Are you kidding me?" Darwin shouted, angered by her betrayal as Alex put a hand on his shoulder to hold him back slightly. She scoffed at him.

"Come on. We don't belong here. And that's nothing to be ashamed of." Her friends stared at her in disbelief as she turned her back on her friends.

"We have to do something..." Belle whispered to herself, the others exchanging glances for a moment before Darwin nodded and flicked Alex on the shoulder.

"Stop. I'm coming with you." He blurted out before walking forward and standing next to Angel, who was beaming at him. Belle and Raven looked at each other with their jaws set harshly. He ignored the looks on their faces, choosing to focus on Shaw as the man approached him.

"Good choice. So tell me about your mutation."

"Well, I adapt to survive. So...I guess I'm coming with you," Darwin said smoothly, shooting Angel a grin. Shaw simply nodded and clapped his hands together.

"I like that." He then turned towards Belle and gave her a glance over, his eyes softening just slightly. "Last chance, Miss Yanos. I want to make sure you'll be on the right side of this war." Remembering the words from her nightmare, she simply growled at him, causing his eyes to harden again.

"Go to hell." Before he could muster a response to her disrespect, Darwin grabbed Angel and protected her, covering her with his body.

"Alex!" he shouted as he changed the composition on his back.

"Get down!" Alex responded, pushing his friends out of his window of aim, the group standing far behind him quickly.

"Do it!" Darwin shouted back as Alex was surrounded by red rings of plasma. He grunted as he aimed and released the rings, smiling as they focused on Shaw. Sadly, Shaw grabbed onto the rings and absorbed them, condensing them into an orb of energy in his fingertips. While they all stared at him in shock, he let out a chuckle before turning to Darwin, who had morphed back to his original state. Belle slowly made her way forward and stood between Alex and Hank, tense and ready to attack if needed.

"Protecting your fellow mutants? That's a noble gesture," Shaw said before admiring the orb in his hand and gesturing to it with his other hand. "Feels good." There was a moment of silence before he suddenly put his empty hand on Darwin's shoulder. "Adapt to this," he hissed, pushing the orb into Darwin's mouth and stepping away with his team. They made to leave, but he held up his hand, wanting to see his handy work as it started. Everyone watched as Darwin tried to adapt, his skin changing phases continuously and desperately. Belle knew what was happening, lunging forward to help him only to be held back by Alex and Hank.

"Let me go! I can save him!" she shouted as she fought against their grip, her eyes never leaving his convulsing body.

"Belle, I don't-" Hank tried to say to her, but she yanked herself from their grips and rushed to Darwin. Without thinking, she placed a hand on his chest just as his skin turned to molten lava, badly burning her. She screamed in pain and studied her hand for a moment through tear-blurred eyes as it began to slowly heal. Her head snapped upwards to look at him, trying to feel for a way to save him, but she couldn't as his mortal clock kept ticking and his body kept fighting an uphill battle. Suddenly, he completely turned to stone and began to crack from underneath, light surfacing through the cracks. Raven screamed her name, but Belle only barely managed to cover her face with her arms and fall to a crouch as Darwin literally exploded directly in front of her, the blast of blazing hot energy burning the skin and most of the layers of muscle from her arms and knocking her to the ground several feet away. She landed flat on her back and hissed at the pain as she moved to kneel in front of the spot where he had been standing, absolutely nothing left in his place. Taking a shaky breath and turning her eyes to Sebastian Shaw, she saw the satisfaction on his face and couldn't control her rage as she quickly snapped her arms in his direction and dispatched daggers made from vines and thorns. Before they could even touch him, Azazel teleported them away, the daggers instead sticking to the wall with loud thuds. Belle stared at the space blankly for a moment before feeling unbearable burning coming from her arms, the numbing effect of the adrenaline wearing off. When she looked down at them, she barely managed to hold in her sudden urge to retch. Spots of milky white bone were showing as the corners of her skin and muscles were sizzling and producing smoke, colored a range of shades of grey and black. Even still, her arms had already started to heal over, pink fibers growing back little by little, pushing past the burnt edges. She felt absolutely sick to her stomach, knowing that she had failed to save her friend and yet she was growing back muscles, blood vessels, and skin at a slow and painful, but ultimately effective, rate. Belle felt shame well up from within her, suddenly feeling like a failure. In her mind, she had become the weapon the humans had always wanted her to become. With her thoughts swirling, she tried to cover her mouth with her hand to avoid the erupting sob but froze when she felt it brush against her lips. Ripping her hand away from her face, she finally noticed that half of her hand had burned off too, her ring and pinky finger mostly bone with small amounts of muscle fibers returning, her thumb and index finger intact, and her middle finger completely blackened and slowly regaining color. When she turned it over to look at her palm, she felt like dry heaving again, the skin on her palm nonexistent as the new pink muscles slowly shifted through the burnt black muscles like worms trying desperately to crawl through the dry densely-packed soil. At that moment, her mind snapped and she lost all sense of reality, simply standing up quietly and rush out of the room, disappearing down the hallway before anyone could realize she had run off or think to follow. None of them could even hear her pained screams as they echoed through the night, everyone's hold on reality shattered.

* * *

Tuesday and Friday Updates.


	10. Chapter 10

Book 1

Chapter Ten

It was very early in the morning when they arrived at the government facility, the sun was still hidden. Charles and Erik parted ways from Moira once the three of them realized something had happened, looking for the others. A million thoughts ran through their minds before they came into view, the group quietly huddled together outside. Charles ran to Raven, whose bottom lip was quivering as she caught sight of him, and embraced her, his arms wrapping around her waist protectively.

"Charles...thank goodness," she whispered, her voice shaking as well.

"What happened?" he asked gently, eyeing the rest of them. They seemed just as unnerved. Charles didn't fail to notice that they were missing people, but focused on the ones there, reading their expressions. Hank was being his usual shy and detached self, but the way he was fidgeting and zoning out spoke volumes. Sean was lacking his usual humorous streak, his face just solemn and tired. Alex, despite his steely exterior, looked on edge as he fiddled with his hands and avoided all eye contact. Charles continued to subconsciously scan them for something as he pulled away immediate hug and listened to her.

"Shaw came. He killed all of the men and gave us a proposal. He- Angel went with him and- and Darwin...Darwin…" she trailed off in a sob, causing Charles to carefully pull into another hug. As she sobbed into his shoulder, he noticed the same wincing on everyone's faces, the wound of losing their friend obviously still fresh in their minds. Just as he went to focus back on Raven, Charles realized what he had been instinctively looking for and his head snapped up and looked around quickly.

"Wait a minute. Then where's Belle?" Charles muttered, looking over at Erik whose eyes widened at the realization. Raven collected herself for a moment, long enough to pull away from his arms and wrap her arms around herself, giving a faint whisper.

"I don't...I don't…" was all she could manage before she turned to the others and Hank held her as she sniffled. Panic panging through Charles, he looked to Alex with a pleading gaze, but he averted his eyes. Sean was doing the same. Exchanging a concerned look with Erik, Charles focus on Alex again, this time noticing the fidgeting intensifying.

"Alex...where's Belle?" His voice quivered slightly as he said her name and Alex hesitantly met his gaze. He shifted his jaw tensely before slowly hiding his hands in his pockets and speaking.

"Shaw was interested in her. I think he came here specifically for her." Charles felt the color drain from his face as Alex leaned back on the bricks on sit down. "He knew her...he knew her well. He brought up some things from her past...her students...her employer and landlord she had lied to-"

"I told the lie to Yvonne. She was just relying on me to tie up the loose ends on the life she had."

"...and the woman she killed? Caroline?" Alex whispered, all of them looking at Charles for an answer. Even Erik looked concerned, watching his face as it darkened.

"Shaw brought her up?" Alex nodded slowly while Charles muttered a string of curses, his anxiety growing drastically. Things were getting worse and worse and he needed to find her. No one was answering his question and she was probably alone and terrified after seeing him again. "Alex, please, tell me where she is." He sounded so desperate, but he didn't care. He just needed to know where Belle was. He needed for her to be safe. Reading into the pain on his face, Alex stared at him before sighing and putting his head in his hands.

"Here's what happened. Shaw ambushed the FBI's guys and came in. He gave a spiel about joining him while he very obviously looked at Belle. He even addressed her personally and said all of that stuff from her past. They- he was trying to convince her to join him." Charles's fists clenched as he listened attentively. "In the end, Angel joined them. D…" he paused to swallow the lump in his throat. "Darwin...pretended to join and grabbed Angel before asking me to blast them. I tried to make the shot, but Shaw absorbed it and k...he killed Darwin. Belle tried to attack him but they disappeared before she could reach them." Charles stared at him, waiting for the answer he wanted. Suddenly, Hank looked over, Raven still in his arms but dry-eyed and fairly stable.

"She disappeared. After they left, she took off down the hallway and we haven't seen her since and no one has said anything," Hank confessed, Alex nodding slightly as he averted his eyes once more. A million thoughts entered Charles's mind and he wondered if she had left for good or if she had disappeared and didn't want to be found. He feared that Shaw might have sent one of his men back to kidnap her or, even worse, that Shaw himself had come back to kidnap her.

"I'm going to find her," he said, getting ready to take off.

"Wait," Sean said, causing him to freeze and look at all of them once more. "...is it...is it true? Did Belle actually kill someone?" Charles cringed slightly and sighed before addressing all of them carefully.

"There's a lot you don't know about her...such as she was drafted into the war when she was underage. She lived most of her life either homeless or in an orphanage. And...she was forced to kill when she was at war."

"How underaged?" Erik asked, his face soft. Charles hesitated but ultimately decided that they needed to understand her better.

"...she was eight years old...please check them for injuries while I look for her." He responded with a single nod as Charles took off down the hall, sharing a look of sadness and empathy with the others. Erik never thought he would feel for another human being as much as he felt for the dark-haired girl with the blue eyes. As Charles checked room by room, shouting her name, all he could hear was his own echo. When he put his fingers to his temple, he telepathically called for her, but she didn't answer and his nerves started to show. He tried to feel her around and enter her mind but found nothing, not even a barrier against him. It was like she wasn't there. Curses flew from his lips and he took off in a sprint, running up and down the corridors of the facility, even losing his footing momentarily as he turned a corner, falling to his knees. He just couldn't locate her and he was on the verge of emotionally collapsing with grief. A million thoughts beat at him until he managed to look up and spotted the remains of Cerebro scattered outside through a hole in the door. Slowly getting up, he managed to push his way outside and looked at the wreckage, his heart stopping. He saw a small figure sprawled out on the grass, not moving and surrounded by destruction. He broke out into a sprint, pausing for a moment when he noticed something around her. It was like a dome of some sort of energy, something that probably protected her and kept her undetectable. Pressing his hand to the surface hesitantly, the energy stopped on contact. When he took a step closer and pushed it slightly, it followed caved a bit. The entirety of the dome shrunk with every step he took, eventually clinging to Belle's body like a radiating glow before fading away. Close enough, Charles could see her chest rising and falling and decided to kneel beside her and gently shake her shoulders, whispering her name. Her doe eyes opened slightly, barely focusing on him as she started to shake and tears rolled down her cheeks, reality already on her mind.

"Charles...he was here…" He shushed her gently as her fingers reached out to him. She wrapped her shaking fingers around his hand and tried to hold on tightly, looking for something to ground her.

"I know...are you alright?" he whispered, worry seeping through his words. She shook her head as the quiet tears became more frequent and heavier. Sitting up, she slowly let go of his hand and turned her eyes away from him, letting her hair shield her face.

"Darwin is dead…I...I couldn't save him." She moved to put her hand to her mouth but froze when she noticed her arms. Cautiously, she pulled them back and stared at them in horror. Other than some minor scars that she knew would disappear, her arms and hand were fully healed, almost like the entire occurrence had been another nightmare. "...God no..." she whimpered, turning them to see if they would return to their destroyed state, but to no avail. She cried harder and cursed herself out in mumbles as she curled into herself. When she felt Charles lay a gentle hand on her forearm, she couldn't help but yank herself away and hold herself tighter.

"...what is it, Belle?" he whispered to her. When she didn't respond, he tried to lean closer to her. "What did he do to you?" She hesitatingly looked at him for a moment through the teardrop-dewed eyelashes on her half-lidded eyes before looking away.

"Shaw was about to take Angel, but Darwin planned to fake his betrayal to save Angel when Alex would blast them. But then Shaw caught the plasma and forced...he forced Darwin to swallow it. And Darwin couldn't handle it," she explained calmly, but hollowly. "I tried to save him, I really did," she continued, "but I burned my hand and then he…" Belle paused and her shoulders began to tremble again as tears sprung again. "Charles, he exploded right in front of me. Gone. My-my arms and hands were severely burned to the bone...but there was nothing left of him."

"What matters is that you're okay," he tried to reassure, but she shook her head violently.

"Charles, he died because I couldn't save him. That's what I'm supposed to do. I'm supposed to save people. But I... I failed him."

"Belle..."

"And what's worse is that I couldn't save him but I could save myself?" she hissed bitterly. "Somehow, I could survive those burns, but he died on the spot? What kind of twisted person-" Hearing the violent panic in her voice, he leaned over and grabbed onto her shoulders firmly as her rage made her quiver.

"Belle, you need to breathe-"

"Don't tell me to breathe, Charles! That's the last thing I want to do right now!" she screamed, lashing her arms out to break his grip on her. After a moment of silence with the exception of her rapid breaths, Belle slowly curled into herself again, unable to meet his eyes. He could sense shame coming from her as he hesitantly approached her again, keeping his voice soft.

"Belle, please-" She simply shook her head, looking off into the distance as her head leaned against her forearm horizontally propped on her knees. As her breathing evened, Charles placed his hand on hers. She glanced at him for a moment before leaning against him as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder comfortingly.

"What's the point of having these powers if I can't save others…"

"You can learn to use them-"

"I thought I did…I healed countless soldiers. Why...how could I fail him..." she trailed off, snuggled closer to Charles. Her legs stretched out more, causing her hands to fall limply on her lap. He bit the inside of his cheek before responding.

"I don't think it's so simple...there's a lot to it, love." A small smile graced her lips and they sat in comfortable silence for a moment. "I'm afraid the others are waiting. They're worried about you." With a simple nod, Belle waited for Charles to get up and offer her assistance, taking his hand when he did. He pulled her up and the force of his pull brought her flush against his chest. Pink tinted her cheeks as she looked up at him, biting her lip and moving away from him shyly. The two then returned to the others, keeping silence between them. When Raven saw Belle, she ran to her and engulfed her in a hug. Charles watched them as they held onto each other for support before pulling Erik aside to talk. Once the embrace ended, she looked at the others, who all gave her small empathetic smiles which she returned.

"Glad to see you're okay there, sprout," Alex said softly. She didn't know why, but they all seemed much calmer than she had expected. Giving him a nod, she tucked her arm into Raven's as the boys came back and turned to them.

"We've made arrangements for you to be taken home immediately," Charles announced firmly. Everyone looked at him, heads snapping upwards and any form of softness gone.

"We're not going home," Alex forced, trying to keep his voice from wavering. Charles's eyebrows knit together.

"What?" Sean looked between Charles and Alex before speaking.

"He's not going back to prison," he said. Alex backed him up with a nod as he crossed his arms.

"He killed Darwin." There was a sense of finality as he made eye contact with Charles, who sighed moments later.

"All the more reason for you to leave-" he tried to reason with them, but Raven let go of Belle and moved forward.

"Darwin's dead, Charles. And we can't even bury him." Her voice was strong for the first time since the attack. Charles was thinking, obviously unsure what to do.

"We can avenge him," Erik suggested boldly much to Charles's distaste. He saw the flash of vengeance in Alex and Raven's eyes, the look of surprise on Sean's face, the frown on Hank's lips, and the disinterested aura surrounding Belle's body.

"Erik, a word, please." The two went off again, leaving the young mutants in silence. Belle could hear the discussion, though she mentally wandered slightly, staring at the paramedics off in the distance. Her fingers trailed up her forearm as she closed her eyes, feeling her senses numbing. A warm gentle hand suddenly finding its way around her waist forced her eyes open again and she glanced over to see Charles stabilizing her with a soft smile.

"Are you alright, love?" he whispered to her, his thumb rubbing circled on her back. She gave him the weak smile she could manage.

"Numb. Tired." He nodded, mentally relating to her before focusing on the others.

"We'll have to train. All of us. Yes?" Everyone looked surprised, but no one disagreed. Belle stared at him with wide eyes and a small smile appeared on her lips at the idea of training.

"But we can't stay here. Even if they reopen the department, it's not safe. We've got nowhere to go and nowhere to train," Hank pointed out, looking disappointed at the fact. The mood dropped slightly before everyone noticed Charles lift the corners of his lips as he looked directly at Raven.

"Yes, we do. We'll meet back here in an hour. Be prepared to leave." Without saying another word, he let go of Belle, shot her a promising smile, offered Raven his arm, and walked off with his sister. No one said a word, one by one departing until Belle was left alone. She slowly walked back to the lounge and stared at the destroyed room. Walking back over to the bar, she picked up the book she had been reading, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. She made her way back to her room, quickly moving to pick up a pen. On the back of the hard front cover, she simply wrote:

Darwin

"Nothing that we do, is done in vain. I believe, with all my soul, that we shall see triumph."

Belle let her fingers dance over the words she had written before picking up the bag of books and clothes she chose to never unpack. Taking one last look around the room, she closed the door and walked down the hall for the last time, all of the life in the room wilting and dying. Darwin's sacrifice fueled Belle in her yearning to train and she vowed that she would never be as defenseless as she had been that day.

As Belle made her way to a stationed military vehicle, Erik stopped her and offered to help with her things. She accepted his kindness as he sparked up a conversation during their walk.

"I don't mean to pry but...you seem to know Shaw..." he asked carefully, trying to read her face a bit. When she gave nothing away, he proceeded with caution. "How did you two meet, if you don't mind me asking?"

"...I mind very much and I would rather walk away but..." she paused and looked at him, stopping in her steps. "But we will face him again...he saved my life when I was a ten-year-old war medic. My camp was bombed...and he was also behind the bombing."

"...why did he go out of his way to kill everyone and save you?" They stared into each other's eyes and the souls of two children who had been stripped of their childhoods looked upon each other.

"I ask myself that every day,"

"...back when he was Dr. Klaus Schmidt and working with the Nazis, he killed my mother in front of me and tortured me into using my mutation." Her gaze softened.

"I'm so sorry-"

"You're just as much of a victim. Please spare me your pity," he whispered as he started to walk again. She stayed in her place.

"The nightmare I had the first night," she said loudly. He heard her and stopped, slowly looking over at her from his shoulder. "He was torturing me. He and his telepath friend." It was Erik's turn to soften his gaze as he let her catch up to him.

"...we arrested her, so you won't have to worry about her anytime soon, okay?" Giving him a simple nod, they finished their walk in silence save for Belle's faint 'thank you' as she hopped in the back of the vehicle. Moira took the seat next to Belle and offered her hand to the shaken up girl. Belle eyed the gesture for a moment before taking her hand and receiving a gentle squeeze from Moira. The trio was quiet and tense, but no one thought it was worth it to ask questions as Charles watched them all. By midday, the team reached what appeared to be a condensed palace. When she hopped off, Belle purposely lingered in the back, staring at the architecture in aw.

"This is yours?" Sean asked, his mouth a jarred.

"No, it's ours," Charles said, staring up longingly. A chuckle escaped Erik's mouth.

"Honestly, Charles. I don't know how you survived, living in such hardship," he joked. Raven, in response, moved forward in the group and gave Charles a kind side hug.

"Well, it was a hardship softened by me." Charles planted a light kiss on her hair before looking back at the others, his eyes briefly remaining in Belle's before she looked away. "Come on. Time for the tour." She led them inside and began speaking about the house. She showed them the kitchen, the parlor, this, that, and started showing everyone to their rooms. Charles noticed how Belle stayed behind the group looking down at her feet and approached her. When he offered her his arm silently, she took it with a graceful turn of the lip but offered no words. She felt overwhelmed in so many ways that she just wanted to spend some time alone. By the time they reached the end of the hallway, Raven stopped and pointed at one room and turned to look at Belle. "Belle, this is your room. Charles is right across the hall and I'm on your left, okay?" Belle replied with a small smile before releasing Charles's arm and opening the door. The room was spacious but rather dusty. It was obvious that it hadn't been used for years, but Belle appreciated the space. She didn't notice that the door was still open or that Raven and Charles were watching her from the hall as she strolled in and pulled the regal curtains to the side. The sunlight revealed all of the dust particles dancing in the air, but Belle paid them no mind, simply closing her eyes and embracing the heat the sun's rays were feeding her. Charles went to leave, but Raven tugged him back by his sleeve, giving him a look that commanded him to stay. When he looked over, he saw Belle raising her hands, palms up. Vines started climbing down the curtains and up the wooden posts of her bed. As she sat on the cushion of the bay window, grass slowly grew on the ground, lush and green. Charles was in awe and moved to say something, but Raven pulled him back into the hallway and silently shut the door, throwing him a rather smug look before bounding off in her own and leaving him to stare at the door.

That night, Charles knocked on Belle's door. The sound startled Belle from her book, prompting her to rise from the vanity chair.

"Come in." Charles entered and smiled at her when he recognized that her hair was in its usual loose braid and she was dressed for bed. She quickly closed the book she had been reading and walked over to the four post bed, sitting on it gently.

"I like what you've done with the place," he commented as he sat next to her, his finger tracing one of the vines on the posts. Pulling away after getting distracted, he turned to her and time froze as they gazed into each other's eyes. In the end, no other words were exchanged, just stares, smiles, soft caresses, and a loving kiss to Belle's forehead. Instead, Charles ended up being the one who couldn't sleep that night, staring at the ceiling as he laid flat on his back thinking about the girl he had been tucking into bed every night for a week at most. It wasn't even the thought of her that kept him awake or his memories of the little touches and smiles that they had shared. He couldn't sleep because every time he referred to her as anything but a woman, he had to correct himself and replay his thought again from the beginning. It was like calling her a woman had changed everything. All he could think about was the beautiful strong woman he had come to know Belle Yanos as.

* * *

Tuesday and Friday Updates.


	11. Chapter 11

I'm so so so sorry I'm late. I'm really bad at this "on time" kind of thing. I'm working on it. I really am.

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Book 1

Chapter Eleven

The Xavier Mansion proved to be the perfect place to train. On the first day of training, Belle spent her morning running laps around the estate, building up her stamina. After her tenth lap, she rested on the back steps, looking on at the landscaping. The double doors opened and Moira came out with some spring to her step.

"How's the training going?" she asked, sitting next to Belle on the steps.

"Good, though it's not exactly training. Just cardio to work up to training," Belle breathed back. Moira nodded as she admired the plant life.

"Next time you go for a run, I could join you if you'd like. Just let me know." The mutant looked at the woman for a moment, still catching her breath.

"I would love that. Thank you, Moira." The two exchanged smiles before Belle got up and returned to her room. After a relaxing shower and redressing in clean clothes, she walked to the vanity, her bare feet brushing against the grassy floor. She took a moment to tame her curls into place before slipping on her shoes and closing the door behind her. As she made her way to the kitchen for lunch, she paused when she heard shuffling inside. Quietly entering, she found Charles making himself a sandwich. A bright smile crossed his lips as she came over and bumped into him slightly with her hip. "Hey, you."

"Belle. Always a pleasure to see you. Would you like a sandwich?"

"No no don't trouble yourself. There are leftovers from last night's dinner. I'll just reheat and feast." Charles chuckled at her as she pulled the bowl from the refrigerator. They say at the table and ate in comfortable silence for a while. As she finished her meal, Charles brought his plate to the sink.

"Would you mind coming with me to train Alex?" he asked as he turned on the faucet. She responded with a nod, swallowing quickly before speaking.

"Yes, of course, I'll help!" She quickly brought her bowl to the sink to wash, although Charles was quick to take it from her hands, his fingers brushing against hers as he lifted it from her grasp. "Hey, I-"

"I'm already washing. Keep your hands dry," he said, flashing her a quick smile before going back to his task. Shaking her head and chuckling, she went back to the table and straightened out the placemats. Charles placed a gentle hand against the small of her back as she finished. She straightened out and followed him after the two exchanged smiles. They made their way to the base of the stairs and were greeted by a nervous Alex. After Belle gave him a reassuring smile and a pat on the back, Charles led them down to the basement and showed them a room. Belle glared at the room, very much familiar with the structure and purpose of the space.

"A bomb bunker?" she asked, looking over at Charles in surprise. She then looked over at Alex, who was visible fidgeting from his nerves.

"Yes. This room was made to withstand atomic bombs. I think it can withstand you, Alex." Charles pulled out a mannequin from a separate side room and calmly placed it in the very center of the room before taking Belle's arm and gently pulling her out. "Just aim for the target." Belle followed him as they reached for the door they had entered through as Alex turned to question him.

"But-"

"Concentrate and aim. Belle and I will be right outside." With that, Charles sealed the bunker and checked his watch before fixing his attention on her. Belle raised an eyebrow at him but showed no signs of protest as Charles chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"This is his training? Hit the bullseye?" she challenged, a certain degree of teasing found in her tone.

"I want to see his natural ability," he offered her, his wording causing her to snort loudly and poke him in the side. He let out a sharp laugh and let his arm fall back to his side.

"He doesn't know how to aim. We've figured that out already," she said, making a gesture on her waist in reference to the kind of cut that had sliced through the statue in the government facility's courtyard. She could still see the gleam of amusement in his eye and had to hold back a smile.

"And you will help me teach him. Hank is developing something to help him focus it better. You and I will be the moral support." Just as he finished his sentence, a red light started flashing. Throwing her a smile over his shoulder, Charles opened the door to reveal the room alight with fire, only Alex and the doll standing safely from the flames. "Oh my god," he whispered, quickly grabbing the fire extinguisher and proceeded to walk around extinguishing all of the fire. Belle merely watched Alex as Charles busily promised him that he'd help him control it and gently let a hand fall on his shoulder. The boy looked at her surprised. Thinking for a moment, she formed a dagger of vines in her hand, similar to the one she had used against Emma Frost in her nightmare.

"If I can make this shot, you can learn to aim," she whispered. Alex looked down at her hand before meeting her eyes and nodding. When she threw the spinning dagger, she didn't even spare a glance at the target. Instead, her eyes were trained at Alex's, who was staring at her still and frozen in his spot. The dagger made a thumping sound and both immediately looked over to see that it landed square in the center of the head. Charles watched in awe as Alex grinned at Belle and nodded his head before leaving the room in higher spirits than he had entered.

"That was brilliant," he admired aloud. Belle looked over at Charles and smiled softly when she saw the smile on his face. He came around to stand beside her as he listened to her.

"Well, it's all in his head. That's where he limits himself. That's where he needs to break through." She produced another dagger. "And here," she threw it and it landed directly in the center of the mannequin's chest, "is where his power truly lies." They remained silent as Charles pulled the vines products from the dummy and handed them to her, watching with a gentle smile as she absorbed them back into her palm with a soft glowing light.

Training continued for everyone and every day for the next week, the group not only got stronger but more confident, individually and wholly. Training varied for everyone, playing on their strengths and weaknesses. For example, Belle would start her days with a dozen laps around the estate with Moira, leading into morning sessions with Alex and Charles in the bunker and late morning meditation in the gardens. After a late lunch, she and Charles would have their one on one time together and slowly but surely, she felt her powers within her grasp. Her telepathy was stronger than ever and her control over plants was growing. In fact, she quickly realized that she was unintentionally feeding everyone in the house energy one day over dinner when everyone expressed feeling more energized and lively during the day and she realized she felt a buzzing from inside of her. With every training session with Charles, the stronger her feelings grew and the closer they became, little endearing touches being exchanged between them with more frequencies. After her time with Charles, she would spend the remainder of her afternoon reading and helping Hank in the lab. And just like before, Belle and Charles continued their nightly tradition of him tucking her into bed, every night less and fewer words being exchanged and more loving little touches and smiles appearing.

One day after Belle's late morning meditation session, she was walking back to the house and saw Charles working with Hank, Sean, and Erik on the giant satellite dish. He gave her a bright smile and waved at her. Deciding to pause for a moment and take in some more sun before lunch, she waved back and watched as Charles came running down to join her.

"What are you up to?" she asked, throwing him a curious look.

"You'll see, love," he said with a wink. He then gave Hank a thumbs up. It was then that she noticed Erik up there inching towards Sean. Suddenly, Sean was shoved from the ledge and he was falling with his arms open. Belle gasped and grabbed onto Charles's arm out of fear before the boy let out a sonic scream that renounced him into the air, gliding. Charles was celebrating at the moment, a smile wide on his face before he felt Belle's grip tighten. When he looked over, he could see her squeezing her eyes shut and hyperventilating. He was quick to act, grabbing a hold of her and putting two fingers to her temple. He saw Belle buried under rubble as bombs crashed over her. He shouted her name, but the attack on the camp overpowered his voice. She was crawling out slowly and her mind was processing everything quickly, trying to move. Suddenly, a boot came in contact with her face and Charles saw a woman who hadn't been there before.

"You dirty little freak. Now it's your turn to die." The woman pulled out a handgun and aimed it at her. Charles shouted loud enough for her eyes to meet his before hearing a deafening boom and each returned to the present, Belle in Charles's arms as they collapsed on the floor together. They were both panting and looked at each other.

"You have PTSD?" His voice was quiet but definite and Belle just stared at him, her mind reeling.

"I...Apparently." He stared at her and frowned as she continued to dazedly look at him, her mind hazy with silent pictures of faces she recalled from another lifetime.

"You didn't know?" he whispered softly, holding her close. Her response was a less than enthusiastic shake of her head, barely acknowledging his words. Gently raising his fingers, he brushed her cheek slightly and watched as the fog in her eyes cleared slightly, her eyes able to focus a bit more on him. He was itching to press into her mind, but held himself back, trusting her as he saw her refocusing and coming back to reality. She stared at him for a moment before pressing a palm to her temple and blinking, sighing.

"I didn't know what else to do. I was young...homeless. I didn't know any better and the only people helping the homeless orphan were a few teachers, a librarian, a bus driver, and a woman who owned a run down dinner," she calmly explained, a waver of shame in her voice. Belle composed herself a bit as she looked into his eyes and he pressed his lips together as he watched her. He admired her so much, but he couldn't wrap his mind around her hardships...not in the way he wanted to.

"If we had met before, I would have brought you here. Given you a home, food, clothes, family even…" Charles breathes, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Belle brushed off her blush with a chuckle as she slowly shifted to stand. It was then that she realized they were still on the ground, wrapped up in each other. Noticing the way she had moved to push away and stand, Charles scrambled to his feet and offered her a hand with a tint of pink on his cheekbones. She couldn't help but smile to herself as she took it. Once on her feet, she brushed her hands off and she pocketed them quickly, thinking about his words again. He made to walk away, but Belle's hand reached out and took his arm gently. Turning him to face her, the hand slid down to trace his wrist with her fingers.

"Charles, your sentiment is sweet, but I wouldn't be me if you had." Just as her fingers slid down to his palm and his own curled up to feel hers, Hank came running up to them, cutting the moment short as they stepped away enough to release their holds on one another.

"I knew the wings would work!" he shouted excitedly, grinning from ear to ear and shooting them a contagious smile.

"I knew you'd get it, Hank," Belle encouraged, glazing her downcast look for losing the moment with one of pride. "These suits are just what each of us needed." At the mention of her words, Hank snapped his fingers as though he recalled something important.

"Speaking of which, would you mind coming by early so we can work on yours?" Belle looked at Charles, silently asking him for his permission. To her surprise and slight disappointment, he gave a closed lip smile and nothing more, not a twinkle in his eye as she could feel this mind churning with thoughts and concerns.

"You two can work on that after lunch and Belle can meet me in the garden when she's ready." Without saying another word, Charles walked away, leaving Hank and Belle in an awkward silence.

* * *

Tuesday and Friday Updates.


	12. Chapter 12

Book 1

Chapter Twelve

Lunch was painfully awkward as Charles remained uncharacteristically quiet, caught in his thoughts. Belle wanted to reach out to him but decided against it, figuring she would speak to him during their practice. Still, she couldn't help but look over to him repeatedly during her conversation with Moira and Erik, both of whom noticed her distracted nature.

"Are you alright, Belle?" Erik asked, his eyebrows knit closer as he watched Charles through his peripheral vision. The question seemed to startle her as she hopped slightly in her seat.

"Why do you ask?" She responded, trying to place her reaction off.

"You seem a bit..." Moira started before glancing at Charles subtly. "...distracted." Belle followed her eyes and bit her lips gently, Erik looking at Moira in concern. "Belle?"

"Sorry," she managed as she turned her attention to them again. "I just...when Sean fell from the satellite, it triggered something."

"Like what?" Erik whispered, watching her closely. When her eyes met his own, he slowly nodded his head. "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?" She dodged his glance, staring at her fidgeting hands.

"I...I don't know. It's never happened before and...I think it goes beyond that."

"How so?" Moira asked, placing her hands on top of Belle's. Taking a deep breath, the young telepath managed to string together the words she wanted.

"It wasn't just reliving the night of the bombing. It's like my mind is manipulating it...I saw something that didn't happen."

"...are you sure? Maybe it-" Her head snapped up and Erik got quiet immediately when he saw the surging fear in her eyes.

"It couldn't have happened, Erik. She was dead long before it happened," she whispered. Neither of them got to say a word as Charles suddenly got up from his chair and stood behind Moira, the group falling quiet. He watched Belle carefully.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I'd like to borrow Moira for a bit and I believe Hank is already in the lab waiting on you, Belle," he said very calmly, his eyes never leaving hers as she nodded and got up to leave. He made to say something else, but she turned and walked away before he could say another word. All he could do was let out a sigh. "How is she?" he asked them, staring off after her.

"Shaken," Erik said curtly before rising and making his way out of the room. He obviously didn't mean it in a rude or defensive manner, and Charles could hear the concern bleeding from his tone. Down in the lab, Hank showed Belle rough sketches of her potential suit. They had addressed the material and style of the majority of the suit as it was standard with the others. Hank pointed to the place where the sleeves would be, the sketches each varying in sleeve lengths.

"I've been thinking about your tattoos. They rise from under the skin when you use your powers but disappear after. I wasn't sure what to do to not cause discomfort but you need some kind of protection there." She chuckled to herself.

"Hank, I heal quickly. I doubt I'll need anything to cover them," she said, giving him a shrug as she focused on the fabric swatches in front of her and ran them through her fingers.

"...so how short should they be?" She glanced over the sketches again before pointing at one.

"Quarter sleeves." Hesitantly, Hank wrote down the measures and watched Belle as she went back to focusing on the swatches.

"Is everything alright between you and Charles?" She slowly dropped the fabrics and turn to him as he focused on writing his numbers.

"Charles...is just worried about me. You know how he is," she whispered, looking down at his writing.

"We're all worried about you," Hank said softly, sparing her a concerned glance before focusing on the paper again. "You've always kept to yourself, which I can respect, but after the whole Shaw incident..." he trailed off. Belle carefully placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I have a lot of issues I need to work through...I've always had a lot of baggage. I just...I didn't expect it to ever come back around full circle." Finishing his notes, he leaned against the table and shot her a small smile.

"We're all here for you if you ever need someone. We know you prefer to confide in Charles and Moira and Erik, but we're here for you too," he reassured her. With a smile on her lips, she casually ruffled his hair.

"Are we done with the suit?" She was bouncing on her heels, obviously ready to head off again.

"You're all set," he laughed as she pushed away from the table and gave him a beaming smile.

"See you later!" She slipped out of the room and proceeded down the hallway, heading to the gardens. Her smile had slipped from her face and the spring in her step has faded as she entered and started walking around hedges. As she went to enter the middle clearing, she slightly backed into the shade the shrubbery provided as she noticed Charles and Moira standing together, Charles pacing nervously.

"I don't even know where to start. I never would have brought her into this if I had known, Moira. I should have left her to her life back in the capital." Moira sighed, frowning at him.

"Charles, just talk to her. She said she had never experienced it before. It could have been a random incident-" He whirled around to face her, his face pale.

"It takes one incident for her to get killed. I wouldn't be able to live with that guilt if she..." his voice cracked from emotion and he paused to take a deep breathe, Belle unintentionally inching forward slightly in concern. "...I wouldn't be able to live with that guilt if something happened…to her." Moira placed a hand on his shoulder as he turned away from her.

"You know she won't back down from this. If anything, this might help her, give her closure-" he shrugged her off and continued his pacing.

"I can't put her in harm's way. She's already been through enough. I refuse-"

"We both know that's not your choice," she said coldly. Charles froze, his eyes focused in Belle's direction. She wanted to hide better or come out into view, but she chose to stay put, watching helplessly as his lip quivered slightly. After a moment of silence, Belle could hear Moira soften on her stance as she sighed and continued. "Charles, she'll be here to train with you soon. What are you going to tell her?" He didn't answer, just looking at the shrubs where she was. With a sigh, Moira made to leave. "Let me know how it goes." So focused on his frozen figure, Belle barely heard Moira's heels clicking closer in her direction until she could practically smell her perfume. In a split second decision, she swiftly stepped into a hedge and let it envelop her, watching as Moira briskly pressed on. After a few moments of silence without the clicking sound, Belle reemerged and slowly walked to the center of the garden, where Charles was waiting with her eyes trained on her. He opened his mouth to say something, but she beat his words by quickly wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him tightly. He didn't hesitate to return the hug, the pair separating after the moment of warmth and comfort passed between them.

"Charles…I know you're worried about what happened earlier...and I know you're worried it will happen again and that if it does, the timing might get me killed." She stared into his blue eyes, which were glossy.

"Yes." His voice croaked compared to its usual smoothness. She blinked for a moment as she hesitated. The idea she had was something she would never do, but...she couldn't help but reason herself into it.

"Do you trust me?"

"Absolutely." He didn't even bother to hesitate or hide the certainty in his voice, making her heart swell a bit at his faith in her.

"Take me to a clearing, some kind of field." He shot her a look but with his arm still slung over her shoulder and her arm still wrapped around his waist from their hug, he led her to a grassy area past the initial gardens, taking the exit furthest away from the manor. "Hold on tightly," she whispered, tightening her grip on his waist as an emphasis and he responded accordingly. Belle closed her eyes and after a moment of still quiet, the ground beneath them began to shake as a tree began to sprout a foot or so next to them. Her eyes opened, almost glowing slightly as the tree slowed its growth, stopping about thirty or forty feet high. Belle waved her available hand slightly, forming two swings on the lower branches and slowly making her way over to sit on one. Charles approached the empty swing with caution in his step and sat down, keeping his eyes down.

"Belle...what happened to you?" She chuckled and looked at his face, which remained somber. The slight smile on her lips fell quickly.

"Charles?" she whispered shakily.

"What do I know about you?" Eyes glossing over slightly, she started to fidget.

"You know what I've told you and what you've seen. Isn't that enough-"

"Apparently not because I didn't know something like that could happen to you." Belle stared at him as his hands clenched into angry fists. "I never would have sought you out or brought you here if I had known." Belle winced at the anger in his voice.

"But...we wouldn't have met if you hadn't..." she whispered softly, searching him for any kind of softness. Instead, she saw his jaw clench tightly.

"Maybe it would have been for the best." He made to get up, but her sadness turned into anger.

H

"You want to know what happened to me? Fine," she hissed, catching Charles's attention. His shoulders stayed alert but his jaw unclenched and he watched her carefully as she angrily pulled her eyes away from him. "I was in a hellhole and I had one friend. Just one. And I had to not only torture her but also kill her with my bare hands, with these god-forsaken powers. The General kept a gun pointed at me and I had to do it." She closed her eyes and opened and closed her palms, trying to release the tension she was holding inside without snapping. Charles stared at her.

"They weaponized you." She ignored his whisper, eyes still closed and palms still flexing.

"And when I tried to help her, he shot me." Charles stared at her hands as she fought the tattoos that were trying to creep up her arms.

"Do you blame yourself?" Belle froze for a moment before looking up at Charles, her anger replaced by confusion.

"...what?" He placed his hands in his packet and hesitated before continuing.

"Was there anything you could have done to save her?" She looked like a deer in headlights, unsure what to say as she stared at him. Her hands slackened and, to his great relief, Charles noticed the tattoos fade completely. Once her shock faded as well, she began to stutter, trying to piece her thoughts together.

"I...I mean...I could have killed him instead but...but I-"

"You're not a killer." She shut her mouth and watched him as he came closer to her, kneeling in front of her and placing his hands on her knees. "You don't have the mind of a killer. You don't have the heart of a killer. You don't have the soul of a killer."

"But...but I-"

"You did what you were forced to do. That's not the same thing." Belle stared at him, tears welled up as she leaned forward and pressed her forehead to his with her hands on the side of his head. The tips of her fingers grazed his temples as she let him into her mind freely and willingly. She showed him her tutoring sessions with Caroline and the bond they formed. She showed him the times she snuck around to visit Caroline when she was a prisoner. But most of all, she showed him the little girl who had just tortured her best friend and had seen her take a painful bullet trying to heal her before being shot in the arm and sobbing as she felt herself steal the life from her friend, getting a grasp on the labored breath in her lungs and carefully extract it with her shaking hands. She let the memory of her staring down at a wet blob of a journal fade and closed her eyes as she pulled her shaking fingers away. And after a moment, she fell to her knees and wept. Charles held her tightly as her sobs shook her body, his hands placed just above the small of her back and against the back of her neck while his lips brushed her ear gently.

"You're safe," he whispered. "I've got you." She held him with a hand grabbing onto the back of his shirt and an arm around his neck, the two holding each other firm and steady.

* * *

Tuesday and Friday Updates.


	13. Chapter 13

Book 1

Chapter Thirteen

When dinner rolled by, everyone noticed Belle's absence but didn't say a word about it. Instead they all continued on with their chatter as they ate their plates of food. Charles, however, stayed a bit more on the quiet side, his eyes glazed over with a fog of distraction. Erik joined in his silence, watching him carefully as he ate. As the table emptied and the two were left behind, the question was brought up.

"I'm almost afraid to ask, but how is she?" Erik whispered. Charles put his fork down before meeting the gaze of his friend.

"Resting in her room," he answered calmly. Their eyes read one another and Charles knew he had to give a bit more. "She's emotionally drained, but some rest will do her good."

"She told you more about the war?" Hesitantly, Charles took their plates and walked over to the sink, carefully folding his sleeves to keep them from getting wet.

"She showed me," he responded, carefully turning on the water to begin scrubbing. He went about the chore, Erik watching him from the bar stool he had moved to and waiting patiently. When the dishes were washed, Charles turned off the faucet and started drying them.

"Will she be ready?" The telepath didn't bother looking at him as he focused on his hands at work.

"Whatever for?"

"You know what," Erik whispered, watching carefully as Charles continued his movements nonchalantly.

"You're going to have to be specific, Erik. I don't know what you're-"

"Will Belle be ready to face Shaw, Charles?" He froze and carefully put the plate down, refusing to face Erik. "That's what we're training for. We're just waiting for his next move," Erik hissed, finally standing. The room went cold as Charles looked over his shoulder and met his eyes, fear pulsing through his veins. He turned himself fully and leaned back on the ledge of the sink's counter.

"Erik, I don't...I don't know if she'll ever be ready..."

"We could be facing him any day now. You need to get her ready-"

"I will be patient and open to her. She has years of trauma and not everything was from the war. We will face Shaw when we face him, but Belle needs time."

"We don't have time, Charles-"

"Then we'll make do with the time we have." The edge in Charles's voice mixed with the subtle fear in his eyes made Erik soften a bit, calmly approaching him. Standing beside him, he studied him for a moment before speaking up.

"You care for her," he stated gently. Charles simply scoffed and started putting the dishes away.

"Of course I do. I care about all of you," he tried to dismiss, but Erik started waving a finger at him.

"Don't be coy with me, Charles. All of your flirtations and glances, they were all real. You like her," he chuckled, watching his telepath friend begin grasping for words and getting flustered.

"I'm a natural flirt. You know that. And- and of course I flirt with her. I mean, she's stunning and kind and she understands what it's like to hear these voices and she- she just..." he hesitated before he continued quietly. "She's amazing." Hearing the softness of his tone, Erik have him a sincere smile before picking up the plate Charles has our down.

"I can finish up here while you bring her some food. She'll be hungry when she wakes up," he said, changing the subject. Charles stared at the plate before processing his words and moving into action.

"Right! Yes, swell idea." In under a minute, Charles piled the plate with warm food and hurried out of the kitchen, utensils in hand as he left Erik to his own amusement. When he arrived, he leaned against the door, putting his ear to the wood. Not hearing any noise, he gave a gentle knock and peered in, his feet remaining on the wooden hallway floors. She was exactly as he had left her, which would have been worrisome had the plant life in the room not remained vibrant and healthy. He took the greenery as a good sign. As soon as he stepped on the grass that covered the ground, Belle began to stir from her sleep, slowly opening her eyes and smiling over at Charles.

"What time is it?" All she could manage was a groggy grumble as she sat up and smoothed her wavy hair.

"We just finished dinner. I brought you a plate." He placed the plate of food on her vanity before coming over and sitting beside her on the bed. She nodded and stared at him for a moment, biting her lip.

"...Thank you, Charles." He chuckled and gave her a warm smile.

"May I ask what for?"

"For the first time in a very long time, I feel...at peace. And I think it has to do with earlier today. The things you said to me." He nodded and took one of her hands in his with a small smile on his face. "...just being with you helps..." He looked down, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb, a wider smile breaking out in his face.

"...I'm glad," he whispered. After a few moments of comfortable silence, he looked up slightly and noticed a pile of books placed neatly on the bay window bench. He remembered the book she had been writing in when they left the diner and tilted his head curiously. "Is one of those hers?" She followed his gaze and noticed that it fell on the books, a weak smile tugging on her lips.

"Yes. Slaughterhouse Five." When the name didn't ring a bell, Charles gestured to the stack with his free hand.

"May I?" A quick whisper of approval left her mouth as he got up and made his way over to the books. He picked up Slaughterhouse Five and opened to the back of the front cover. "'God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom always to tell the difference.' It's a beautiful quote." She nodded and climbed out of bed to join him at the window, unintentionally sitting so close to him that their arms were pressed against one another. She went to shift away, but stayed in her place when she saw his lips quirk slightly. In silence, he continued reading and rereading the quote as she reached over him and picked up another book with a dedication, brushing the underside of her arm against the still bare forearms he forgot to cover with his sleeves again.

"Not all of them have a dedication yet," she whispered as she set Jane Eyre on her lap. He was watching her from the corner of his eyes as she stared down at the book fondly. Reading the title, he actually recognized the tale by Charlotte Brontë. "They will one day." Her tone was almost sad as she said it, causing Charles to say something to pull her away from her moment.

"So how many of these have a name?" Realizing how private his question was, he began to fumble over his words. "Oh I-I'm not asking to read them, I just-" her gentle laughs soothed him and he let go of his explanation, somewhat glad to see her smiling a bit again in amusement.

"It's alright, Charles. I've never talked freely about them to someone else...maybe it'll help." He reacted by shifting closer to her and gently putting a hand on hers, concern washing over his eyes.

"Today has been draining for you. Maybe you shouldn't-"

"I want to," she insisted, her eyes staring into his, the exchange warm and comfortable. She leaned back slightly gently placed a hand on his forearm. "There are six dedications, but there are ten total. You know Caroline and Yvonne have one as you've seen both." He nodded in confirmation. "I wrote one for Miss Jane, the woman who cared for the orphanage I grew up in. She was a rather stoic woman but..." she paused to reflect on the kindness she was showed despite the woman's stern nature. "...she was good to us."

"She sounds wonderful," Charles whispered and she squeezed his arm slightly before continuing.

"Darwin has one too...Charles Dickens. And my parents."

"What...happened to your parents? How did you end up in the orphanage, if you don't mind me asking?" He was hesitant to ask, obviously worried of opening old wounds. She simply offered him a small closed lip smile.

"I was a month old when we were involved in a car accident. They died and I lived...I don't really know more past that other than the hospital isolated me for some reason."

"I'm sorry to have asked-"

"Don't be." He placed his hand over the one she had on his forearm.

"Who is the sixth?" She watched him for a moment before rising and restacking the books. Keeping Jane Eyre in her hands for a moment, she stood in front of him and passed it to his lap. He gently opened it and fingered the written words before looking up at her. "Yourself?"

"I came back from the war a different person. I thought it would be fitting to...say a final goodbye," she said calmly, her eyes unreadable. Tracing the spine of the book, Charles stood and faced her.

"And me?" Belle couldn't help but throw him a curious look.

"Well, what about you?"

"Will you dedicate one to me?" He noticed how she bit the bottom of her lip, conflict toiling in the blue of her irises.

"I both hope and dread the thought coming to life, Charles Xavier," she said somberly, making to take the book from his hand.

"How so?" Her fingers brushed his and stayed nearby.

"Dedicating a book means that person is so incredibly special and dear to me that I always wish to keep a piece of their memory with me." She gave him a shy glance before letting her playfulness fall. "But it also means goodbye to that person..." Without thinking, he placed a finger under the curve of her chin and gently lifted her face up so her eyes would meet his. Her fingers inches closer to his and settled beside them. With her other hand, she slowly pulled the book out of his grasp, allowing their fingers to instead curl around each other's.

"I'm right here. You will never be alone again. That is a promise I will make you, Belle Yanos," he whispered softly. Her eyes softened and cleared as she stared into his, a small smile crossing her face. Carefully pulling his hands away from her, he let her wrap both hands around the book and place it with the others before walking across the room to focus on the food he had brought her. She sat down to eat, glancing over at him still grinning. As she took her first bites of food, Charles realizes he was staring and shied his gaze away awkwardly. After a moment, he mustered enough courage to say something intelligent. "I was wondering if you would help me with Alex's training again." When she looked over at him, her eyes lit up and he felt a smile tug at his lips.

"Yes of course. I actually wanted to ask how training went with Hank's new device?" Charles let out a chuckle before sitting back down on the cushions by the window sil.

"He's trying, he really is. There was less fire this time around, but he didn't get the target and I'm trying to figure out how to get him to focus his energy on that target." After a moment, a wicked grin came upon her face.

"I have an idea. When are we training again?" Charles threw her a surprised glance.

"Well...I suppose that's open ended-" he paused as he noticed her eating her food at a rapid pace and stood up again, slightly alarmed and concerned. "You're going to choke! Please be-"

"Come on, let's go!" She leapt from the chair, the plate relatively clear, and tugged his arm. As she pulled him out of her room, Caroline's book falling on the ground from the top of the pile, dedication open and visible. Down in the bomb bunker, Belle and Charles were joined by a nervous Hank and a flustered Alex.

"Why are we training at night? When everyone is in the house?" Alex asked as he kept shifting his glance between Belle and Charles, who seemed to be sharing a secret.

"Well, Alex, you have to learn to control that beam of yours. And the most effective way is by raising the stakes," Charles said as Belle pulled out one mannequin with a big black 'x' on the abdomen and placed it in the center of the range.

"Um...what am I here for?" Hank asked, staring wide eyed at the professor and the teacher.

"You, Hank, are going to stay back and hold onto that fire extinguisher. After Alex finishes, put out whatever is on fire," Belle instructed as she and Charles stood on opposite sides of the mannequin. "Alright Alex. We want to to try to hit the 'x'. And not us." Alex looked bewildered by her request.

"You're serious?" He asked, looking back at Hank who gulped and clenched the fire extinguisher tightly as his face and knuckles turned as pale as a sheet of copy paper.

"We're very serious. We have complete and utter faith in you," Charles responded, straightening up. Alex cast a worried look at Belle.

"It's all in your mind, Alex. Remember, if I can, so can you," she said, nodding to him as she stood tall and smiled at Charles. She knew they were gambling a lot, but she felt confident in this. Alex loosened his arms for a moment before looking directly at the 'x'. Time slowed as a red beam shot from the plate on his chest and Belle and Charles looked away, their arms blocking their faces as the beam hit the mannequin directly on the 'x'. The figure caught fire instantly and the power of the blast threw Belle and Charles against opposite walls, but everyone was smiling as it became clear that only one thing was emitting smoke. Alex let out a hearty laugh as Hank rushed over to put out the fire and the two telepaths stood together, his arm around her shoulder and hers around his waist. He shot Alex a proud nod as Hank shook Alex's hand. After Hank left, Alex approached them, his face still exhibiting his shock.

"That was crazy and risky. Why do something like that?" he asked them, shaking his head. She glanced up at Charles before focusing on Alex.

"It was my idea actually," she confessed. "You just needed to close your focus directly on one thing. You hold a lot of power, Alex, and it takes a lot of strength and discipline to direct it properly."

"Belle's right," Charles jumped in as support. "You needed that pressure on you to force that block in your mind." Alex didn't respond, simply shaking his hand with firm appreciation and lifting her up in a tight hug. Once he retreated, his grin never once leaving his face, the two were left alone, back in the position they had been before Alex had come over.

"That was brilliant, Belle," he whispered, causing her to chuckle and bump him slightly with her hip as she began to leave as well, her arm trailing horizontally against his lower back as she went to leave.

"You're getting slow on me, Professor. You'd better catch up." He grinned as her figure became a shadow, exiting the bunker with a certain sway in her hips and spring in her walk.

* * *

Tuesday and Friday Updates.


	14. Chapter 14

I'm catching up on what I missed last week. I promise it'll be up to date by Friday.

* * *

Book 1

Chapter Fourteen

After a night of target practice with Alex, Belle returned to her room to move her stack of books out of the way before changing into her pajamas and re-braiding her hair. There was a knock on her door and to her surprise, Belle opened the door to reveal Raven awkwardly shifting in the doorway, dressed for bed.

"Raven? Is everything alright?" she asked out of concern, opening the door wider.

"Everything's fine. I just saw your light still on and Charles is downstairs with Erik at the moment, so I wanted to come by and say goodnight." Belle smiled warmly and went to hug her, catching Raven by surprise as she felt a pair of arms wrap around her. She eventually returned the hug before hesitantly breaking it. Giving her a parting glance, Belle whispered a kind goodnight to her and went back to her vanity, leaving the door open. Raven made to leave by shuffling back into the hallway but stopped herself, looking over her shoulder to her. "Hey, Belle?" Her voice quivered slightly. The concern returned to Belle's face as she turned to the shapeshifter and gave her all of her attention. "I'm just curious...how close would you say we are?" Belle's eyebrows scrunched at the question.

"What do you mean?" Taking a moment to check the hall behind her, Raven stepped into the room fully and quietly closed the door before turning to face her again.

"I just…it's just you, me, and Moira. She and I aren't particularly close like I know you guys are, but I don't exactly…" she struggled, creating hand gestures of frustration. "I guess what I'm trying to say is...I never had anyone other than Charles. And I...it's stupid," she said shyly, making to hide her face as she turned back to the door. Belle stood up quickly and came within arm's reach of Raven, lightly placing her fingers on her sleeves.

"Raven, wait." The shapeshifter paused in her step but didn't turn her gaze. "Are you asking me if we're friends?" Finally turning her eyes back to focus on Belle, the telepath knew what she was asking without reading more and let out a chuckle, gently moving Ravn's arms and turning her around to face her. Hands on her shoulders, she smiled at her softly.

"Of course we're friends. I don't pick on Charles with just anyone." She earned a soft but brief giggle from her as she nodded slightly to Belle. Thinking for a moment, Belle's hands pulled away slightly and she cleared her throat hesitantly. "I actually...I think of you almost as a sister," she whispered, Raven's eyes widening at her words.

"You...you do?" she asked, gently grabbing hold of her elbows and Belle gave her a little shake as a goofy smile came onto her face.

"I'll be honest, I've never had a family of my own and the only thing I have to compare to is my time in the orphanage, but...this is how I always imagined having a sister would feel like." Raven's smile slowly fell as an uncertain look glazed over her eyes, causing Belle's smile to fall as well and a concerned furrow between her brows to form. "What's wrong?" Raven pulled away slightly and diverted her eyes, mustering up the courage to voice her insecurity.

"...would you still say that if you saw what I really looked like?" Belle tightened her grip slightly and allowed her furrow to deepen as she tried to read her friend with her eyes, not her mind.

"I would consider you as such in any form you could take. What do you mean-" Before she could finish, Raven began to change appearances right in front of her, causing Belle to pull her hands away quickly. Her skin raised in certain areas, textured patches covering her body as a scale-like gradient transformed her milky cream complexion into a deep blue canvas. Her clothes disappeared with the rest of her usual appearance, the texture reminding Belle of body armor in a way. Her long blonde locks were slicked back and orange, cutting off just above her shoulders, and the white of her eyes turned a soft mustard color with olive irises. Belle instinctively gasped from the shock, a gasp which Raven took negatively. She changed back quickly and made to step away, but Belle was quick to respond to her sudden change in demeanor. "Wait, what are you doing, Raven? Why are you changing again?" Her eyebrows shot up as she watched the young teacher warily.

"I...I thought you didn't-"

"I was surprised," Belle quickly explained, offering her hands again. "Your natural form is so beautiful and detailed so intricately. It's stunning. I'd like to see it again." Raven expressed her shock with widened eyes and raised eyebrows, hesitantly taking the hands in her own.

"Are-are you sure?"

"If you wouldn't mind of course."

"Sure..." She let herself change back, keeping her eyes on Belle as the curious girl gently traced the details on her arms and shoulder, her eyes twinkling.

"You don't know how beautiful you are, do you?" she asked quietly, taking her hands again and giving them a friendly squeeze.

"...even like this?" Belle giggled at her friend's bewilderment before pulling her into another hug.

"Your beauty doesn't change with your skin," she whispered lovingly. Raven felt tears prickling and hugged back tightly, the two holding on to one another until there was a knock on the door. Letting her skin return to its usual milky cream cover-up, Raven pulled away just as Charles opened the door, surprise evident on his face.

"Raven? Is everything alright?" Realizing he might have noticed her watery eyes, Raven wiped any tears threatening to spill and let a smile grace her lips.

"Everything's wonderful." She looked at Belle. "Absolutely wonderful. I'll leave you to it. Goodnight Belle." She let Belle take her hand and squeeze it before releasing her, allowing her to kiss Charles on the cheek before making her way to the door and leaving the two alone in the room. Once the handle clicked, Charles pointed at the door with his thumb. Belle shook her head with a smile and simply climbed into bed, happiness radiating from her. Choosing to not ask any questions, he followed her lead and sat next to her, facing her sitting body. He studied her face for a moment before letting himself grin.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"Whatever for?" Charles chuckled and stared at her fondly, feeling his heart swell.

"For being here. For being with us." He bit his lip before continuing. "With me." Belle smiled at him, her thoughts melting away. After a moment of comfortable silence and stares filled with emotions, she looked away and started sliding into bed, pulling the covers over her legs slowly. She was almost laid on her back before Charles leaned forward slightly to reach out for her temple. Before he could get any farther, however, she sat up slightly and froze, her face inches from his as she leaned her weight against her propped elbows.

"...do you think I'll have more nightmares?" she asked, although Charles heard another question hiding behind her words, one that questioned his motives for coming back every night. He gently took one of her hands and kissed her knuckles gently, letting his lips brush against her skin for a moment before straightening up again.

"I want to make sure you're not alone when you close your eyes," he whispered to her carefully, hoping she would understand the true depth behind his words. With a small smile creeping up her lips, she leaned forward and planted a soft loving kiss on his cheek, the tip of her nose slightly pressing against his cheekbone before she lowered herself back onto the bed and slowly turned on her side, facing him. Charles flushed pink for a moment, brushing his finger against her cheek and caressing his way up to her temple. Gently pressing the pad of his fingers to the exposed skin closely bordered by strands of dark curls, he smiled at her as she let her eyelids flutter shut and allowed him to ease her mind. He kept pulling up the thought of them dancing, noting that the details were sharpening with every passing day. All Charles could hope was that the smile that curled her sleeping lips was because of some form of himself.

The next day was business as usual, Belle and Moira running in the morning. Instead of training with Alex, the two sparred, Erik watching over them as they took their places over the mat. Alex, of course, won the first match because she didn't want to use her powers against him and focused on analyzing his movement patterns and defense tactics. By their second match, though, she was quicker on her feet and used the energy of his punches and kicks to redirect him away from her and disorient him. Noticing his attacks losing steam, she threw her fist out to curve upwards against his side and knocked him off his balance, causing him to land harmlessly on the padding with a thump. They kept going until Alex got tired of feeling his back on the ground and went on with his day. Just as she went to leave, Erik called her back.

"You did a good job, but you won't get to spend the first round reading them. You have to do it while you're in action," he said to her, keeping his tone serious but gentle. Nodding to indicate her understanding, he let her go off to her meditation, keeping his thoughts about her to himself. Instead of heading to the gardens, she took a detour from the grounds and returned to the field where Charles had led her to the day before. Spotting her tree, she decided to swing alone and just let everything soak into her mind. Despite being away from the hustle and bustle of societal whispers and city life, their world was still on the brink of nuclear war. It felt odd to think about, but it hadn't even been two full weeks since she was approached after school by two strangers she now called friends. Her life had felt mundane and normal, something she had never experienced before and never would anyways. She enjoyed teaching because she loved her students and thinking about them even for a moment made her miss them. In particular, she missed Peter. The young boy with strangely light colored hair has always seemed different to her. He was much more athletic than the other children and much more hyper, which said a lot about him considering they were all kindergarteners. Based off of the training she was given, she normally would have categorized him as a child with a conduct of hyperactivity or with some form of a mental condition, but she knew better than to adhere by such training. His eyes had a habit of darting everywhere so quickly that they appeared to always be vibrating, always on the run. Belle let out a sigh as she tightened her grasp on the vines around her, wondering how he was now that she wasn't there and hoping that he was staying out of trouble for once.

After lunch, Belle and Charles decided to simply spend the day in the library, reading in each other's company. They chose a pair of adjacent seats before spending a few hours in a comfortable silence, their fingers unintentional lacing together between them. No one disturbed them until late into the afternoon when Moira burst through the door suddenly, startling the pair.

"The President is about to make his address." The tension in her voice was enough to bring the two telepaths to their feet, discarding their books on their respective seats and following her quickly to the parlor. The small television was on and the face of the young President Kennedy came on. As he took the stand, Belle and Charles sat on the couch, Moira squeezing into the other side of her. As she shifted closer to Charles to make room for the agent, her fingers brushed his and he took her hand in his without a glance of hesitation. They shared reassuring squeezes as they trained their ears to the words leaving the President's lips.

"It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile crossing the embargo line that surrounds Cuba as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union," the president paused as the crowd erupted into supportive cheers. The room in the mansion, however, was cold and tense, void of the warmth the crowd emitted.

"That's where we're going to find Shaw," Erik said cooly, his voice the first to pierce the silence and drawing everyone's attention.

"How do you know?" Moira asked, looking between him and the television with a certain edge to her voice. However, the answer didn't come from the man it had been directed to.

"There are two superpowers facing off and he wants to start World War III with mutants reigning supreme. He won't leave anything to chance. Sebastian Shaw never does." Belle's response just made the silence echo louder as her eyes darkened and she glanced over at Charles. He offered her another squeeze to the hand, but not a hint of a smile.

"So much for diplomacy," Erik muttered to himself, casting a look at Charles before walking out. Belle didn't notice the worried glance he threw her as he made his exit, her eyes trained on the man by her side. Choosing not to acknowledge her concerned stare either, Charles merely released Belle's hand and stuffed both of them in his pockets as he stood.

"I suggest you all get a good night's sleep." And with that, he left the room, the only sound in the room coming from the television set as he avoided looking her way. He didn't have to try very hard as she stared at the face of Kennedy, her mind transfixed.

Dinner was completely silent, dread looking upon everyone. Charles kept looking her way but all Belle could do was stare down at her food and pick at it, her mind still on the picture of President Kennedy speaking. She didn't even realize it was just her and Charles in the room until he carefully sat next to her and pushed her plate closer to her.

"You need to eat," he whispered, looking over her plate. She looked at him briefly before picking at her food again, her mind away.

"We're facing him tomorrow, aren't we." In reality, it wasn't a question and she wasn't looking for an answer and he knew that. Instead, he gently took the twiddling fork from her hand, stabbed a piece of meat, and held it to her lips patiently. She shyly glanced at him.

"Please," he pleaded softly. Spite his gentleness, she knew she wasn't in a place to negotiate and he wasn't going to wait for an answer. When she looked back up at him, the darkness in her eyes softened slightly as she took in the bags under his eyes, which had only darkened since she had met him, and the creases around his lips, which had only begun to appear more since she had met him. Without saying a word, she took the meat from the fork, slowly chewing it. Charles felt his lips curl slightly before taking another piece of meat and lifting it to her mouth. Without too much hesitation, she took it and after a few minutes of the back and forth action, Charles picked up the last piece of food from her plate, a small slice of potato and chose to tease her a bit. Instead of lifting it to her lips, he began to lift it up to his own playfully. Just as he opened his mouth to take it, Belle leaned forward and stopped directly in front of his face. Charles couldn't help but freeze and stare at her, Belle eating the piece from the fork and staring right back at him as she chewed and swallowed. With her mouth no longer preoccupied, her eyes glanced down at his lips, an action mirrored. Slowly, they both let their eyes flutter shut and leaned in, the distance minimizing. Suddenly, a loud bang came from upstairs and the boys' voices were echoing down to them, a sure sign of trouble. Charles froze and sighed before pulling back and placing the fork on the plate, keeping his gaze down. Belle was left in shock as he took her plate to the sink and scurried, muttering about the boys and their lack of conduct at times. She just sat in her seat and stared at the door he left through, not noticing the buds on all the flowers around her blooming and blossoming.

* * *

Tuesday and Friday Updates, although I am not punctual so it's loosely Bi-Weekly Updates at least.


	15. Chapter 15

I'm catching up on what I missed last week. I promise it'll be up to date by Friday.

* * *

Book 1

Chapter Fifteen

The night before Cuba, Belle spent a long time sitting at her vanity, staring into the mirror. For the first time in years, she opened her mind and just listened to the world around her. She could feel everyone bustling around in the house doing their own thing. Charles and Erik sat across the hall playing chess while the boys were in their own rooms thinking about the coming day. Belle noticed that Raven was pacing in her room as though she was anxious about something, but they all were so she didn't think much of it. Moira was down with the television watching the nightly news before bed and Hank was down in the lab as usual. The tension in the house was suffocating and burdening so Belle rose to open the window when she suddenly felt herself being yanked back into her seat, the force of the pull so strong that Belle's vision blurred and all of the voices and emotions in her mind ceased with a quick thump. Looking up once she was stable, she noticed that she had a hand on the mirror and stared at her reflection, crinkling her nose. One blink later, and in her place through the mirror was an older woman staring back at her. She looked to be in her sixties and had a mysterious glow around her, familiar blue eyes burning through her. When Belle blinked again, the woman was gone, though her presence caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand. She waited to see if the woman would return, but minutes passed and nothing happened, leaving her with many questions as she leaned on the vanity.

It seemed like forever when the echo of the clocks chiming sprung her to her feet. Once she came out of her daze, Belle avoided the mirror for the rest of the night, simply changing into her pajamas and Charles's bathrobe and brushing out her hair aimlessly with her fingers. She decided against braiding it, simply leaving her curls loose as to fall over her shoulders. A soft knock came against the door and Belle offered Charles a kind smile as he walked through the door. It faded when she saw him gloomy state, her hand reaching up to touch his face. Instead, he took her wrist, stopping her from letting her fingers trace his skin. At the rejection, she shifted away quietly, crawling into her bed. Charles turned off the lights and turned to lull her to sleep as usual, but her closed eyes and relaxed features made him think she had fallen fast asleep. Sure she wouldn't notice, he kissed her cheek and leaned away from her.

"Sweet dreams, my dearest," he whispered quietly before slowly walking out, closing the door behind him. Belle wasn't sure when she drifted off or how long she had been out, but she woke up with a start suddenly, her back arching her into a sitting position. It felt as though she had a nightmare, but couldn't remember any of it in the slightest. Taking a deep breath, she slid back into the sheets and faced towards the window before eventually turning away with a frustrated grunt. In doing so, she noticed a light peering through the bottom of the door. Someone was still awake. Curiosity fueled her movements as she crawled out of bed and left her room, shutting her door quietly behind her. Belle's bare feet padded lightly against the hardwood flooring of the hallway. She slowly lifted her knuckles to knock on Charles's door, but she noticed the door open and felt his sense of frustration. She shyly spread her hand on the wood of the door as she pushed it forward slightly. She could see Charles on his feet while packing up his chessboard as she slowly walked in a little, fidgeting with the lace bordering her nightgown as she stayed right by the door. _Charles?_ Her voice was soft in his head and he immediately looked up at her, moving forward and leaving the chess game behind and forgotten. _Belle? Is everything alright?_ She nodded quickly, not wanting to worry him. _I just saw a light on._ His eyes flashed toward the door. _I see_. He simply waved her in and quietly closed the door for her. While his back was turned, Belle looked in the mirror on the other side of the room. When she saw her reflection, a pang of dread hit her like a freight train, eliciting a gasp from her lips. Images started flashing before her eyes, all too quick to contemplate. Charles noticed the tension in her posture and gently placed a hand on the small of her back.

"Are you okay?" However, she didn't respond, simply staring into the mirror as bombs and shouting men clouded her vision, her ears filled with explosions and arguments. He noticed the distance in her eyes, the blue becoming lifeless and almost grey. "Belle? Talk to me." Some of the voices were familiar but she couldn't trace them. Nothing connected as sand covered a horizon and bullets flew. Following her eyes, he realized her gaze was focused directly at the mirror and quickly walked over and covered the mirror with one of his bed sheets, carefully watching Belle's reaction. After a moment of stiff silence, her eyes seemed to refocus as she dropped them to look at her feet and covered her mouth with her hands, a strangled cry coming forth. Charles swept across the room and took hold of her by her elbows just as her knees made to give out. He held her against him, her eyes lifting to meet his as a tear leaked and she pressed her nose to his. Her hands lowered from her mouth just enough so she could speak, the pads staying to her chin as the outer side of her fingers brushed against his.

"No one wins tomorrow," she managed. He scrunched his eyebrows, her words concerning and confusing him.

"W-What do you mean?" Her eyes began to dart across his face in a frantic manner, her hands fanning out on her face as her trembling lips parted again.

"No one will win tomorrow. Not us, not Shaw, not humanity. Tomorrow, we're starting a war no matter what we do." She brought her hands to his chest and balled them up against his nightshirt. "Please, you have to listen to me-"

"Belle-" he tried to comfort her, but she shook her head insistently.

"Please, we can't go. There's nothing we can do anyway, so let's not put ourselves at risk-"

"Indifference is the essence of inhumanity, Belle. We can't just do nothing." Her breath caught in her throat for a moment and she simmered down, her fists releasing some of their tension.

"So what? We just...put ourselves on the line?" Charles carefully brushed his hand up her spine, using his thumb to draw comforting circles on her back.

"We are the better man...we have to at least try..." he whispered carefully. She slumped slightly as though she lost her will to fight before gazing into his eyes with pure vulnerability.

"Charles, what if something happens to you?" Her voice quivered. They were face to face, staring at one another. Neither of them tried reading each other even though they wanted to and held their breaths. They simply studied each other as Charles licked his lips.

"Nothing will happen to me, my dear. What-"

"If." He hesitated, unsure what was going on but wanting to comfort her nonetheless even though he didn't know what would come. Charles just couldn't stand to see such sadness in her eyes.

"I will be just fine." Her teeth sucked in her bottom lip, trying to read him in her shaken state.

"And if you're not?" His furrow returned, clearer than ever as he tightened his hold on her.

"Belle?" She looked at her fists and let go of the shirt, moving her hands instead to his cheeks and staring him directly in the eyes and for a moment, they were connected. It was in that stillness that he felt her fears causing her entire body to tremble, her eyes begging for help as she took in a breathe.

"Charles...what if you die?" He watched her carefully before closing the connection, taking her hands in his and gently pulling them away from his face. He dropped eye contact with her and started to turn away.

"You should get some sleep," he said as he walked back towards the mirror and removed the sheet. Looking in it, he saw Belle's reflection staring at him from where she stood, her hands slowly falling to her side. She made to leave but paused as she rested her hand against the handle of the door.

"And what if I do?" She whispered, his mind feeling the weight of her conflicting inner demons. After she finished her question, Charles looked down at the sheet in his hands and began folding it, keeping his focus away from her as he took a shaky breath. He wouldn't think of her death. Not her. As much as he wanted to be prepared for the possibility, he couldn't imagine losing her.

"Nonsense. You're not going to die. Your mutation wouldn't allow it." He paused and looked up at the reflection of her back to him and her face down before continuing in a soft tone. "I wouldn't allow it. And I won't. I promise you, Belle...I won't let you die." Quick as lightning, he looked back down and saw his hands shaking, fiddling with the blanket to make it less noticeable.

"Charles?" Her voice was a whisper, but it echoed in the room. His eyes lifted once more and stared into her doe-like ones, which looked back at him sadly as she must have turned to him when he wasn't focused. "You can't promise that." A chill went through the room. It was true. He couldn't. But he never wanted to think of her death. He couldn't bear the thought of not having her in his life. His eyes were fixated on her as she slowly turned around and reached for the door again. In an instant, he dropped the sheet and turned on his heel, his back to the mirror.

"Belle." She froze at his husky tone before slowly turning toward him and staring at him with pleading eyes, silently asking him to make it all go away. As if complying in slow motion, Charles walked back to her, their eyes connected once again. He reached his hands out to cup her face, pulling her into a kiss as he pressed his lips to hers. Belle didn't realize that she had leaned forward when he approached nor that she had released a dreamy sigh as his nose brushed hers. She was living in the moment and that moment promised her a kiss with Charles, something she had anticipated so many times before. The kiss was soft but passionate, something Belle had never experienced before. She had never felt a caress so sweet but so powerful as his lips touching hers, their strokes fluid and connected as they let them pass over one another. After a few moments, he carefully pulled away and stared into her eyes with an emotion she hadn't seen in an unbearably long time: love. "You can't die on me," he whispered softly, his thumbs brushing hair out of her face. Not saying a word, she simply kissed him again, this time allowing her hands to rest against his chest. The act of separation was slow as he hovered mere centimeters from her lips, his eyes darting to read her face.

"Neither can you, professor." Her voice was gentle as her hands moved to grasp his cheeks. He gave her a soft smile and nodded, pulling her into a tight embrace and brushing his lips against her shoulder. Neither of them knew how long the embrace lasted, but neither wanted to stop, only doing so to look at each other.

"Would you like to stay the night?" he asked her gently. A shy smile crossed her lips as she traced his jawline.

"Yes please." They slowly separated and turned their attention away from one another, Charles going back to the sheets and folding them again as Belle padded over to the chessboard Charles had been packing away when she originally entered. She picked up one of the longer pieces, admiring the way it slimmed as it got taller and tracing the crowned top. The piece was vaguely familiar to her, but she couldn't remember where from.

"Do you play?" Charles asked as he plopped the folded sheet on the bed and approached her. She cast him a side glance as he stood close beside her.

"No, but it brings back some kind of memory," she whispered, turning the piece in her hand.

"You don't remember?" he asked cautiously, slowly taking the other pieces and setting them aside.

"I think..." she paused as an image flashed in her mind and she broke out into a chuckle, a soft smile coming forth on her lips. "My brothers from the orphanage played a lot after lights out. I heard their hushed whispers and started joining them up down in the bomb cellar." Charles watched the flicker of happiness in her eyes and suppressed a smile of his own.

"Did they teach you?"

"No, no. They knew if they did, I would whoop their butts so they left me in the dark and let me watch."

"Were they that afraid of you?" The question seemed to ask many things at once and she shook her head softly, putting the piece down.

"I was a six-year-old learning about photosynthesis, writing fully developed essays, and reading graphs, charts, and maps. They knew I could learn by just being there and let it happen anyways," she recounted, her eyes shining as she recalled the memories. "They wanted me to be the best I could be...and they protected me with their lives." He sensed the weight of her comment and picked up the white queen she had been fiddling with.

"Do you miss them?" he asked gently. She simply took it from his hand, brushing her fingers against his palm as she stared into his eyes.

"I don't dwell on it because I know they've all moved on after the war." He didn't ask any more about them, her eyes telling him that he shouldn't worry so much. When she broke her gaze, she traced her fingers over the curves of the piece one last time before putting it back and helping Charles clear the table in silence. Once the set was put together and stowed away, Belle traced her fingers of his shoulder blades through the fabric of his pajama shirt before looping her arms around Charles's neck. He responded by pulling her closer by the waist and kissing her sweetly, smiling against her lips. Parting for a moment, he walked her over to the bed and went to turn the lights off as she took off his robe and hung it on one of the bedposts. Once in the dark, they climbed under the sheets on their backs, each of them staring up at the ceiling. Her hand found his and they clasped one another, the coolness of the sheets encapsulating them. Belle couldn't help but look over at him despite not knowing where he was exactly.

"...Charles?" she whispered.

"Yes, Belle?" She turned on her side to face him, managing to distinguish his vague silhouette in the darkness.

"...What does this mean?" She could feel him shifting to face her as well and fought a smile.

"What are you referencing?" A blush crept against her cheeks as she swallowed audibly.

"All of the flirting and tension and...and kisses. I'm asking about us..." He lifted her hand and felt him press it to his lips carefully.

"I tried to avoid it, "he muttered against her skin, "and I tried to hide these feelings I have for you, but now...I'm tired of tiptoeing around this." Her heart fluttered slightly as she shifted closer, hanging onto his words.

"...say it," she asked of him, her breathing shallow as she felt him shift forward, his other hand finding her arm and rubbing circles on it.

"Belle Yanos, I have feelings for you," he confessed gently. In her excitement, she went to say something, but Charles rambled on nervously. "When we first met, I felt something there. Maybe it was just me, but I wanted to know you. And-and you inspired me. You are so beautiful and brave and kind and patient and strong and you amaze me every day and...and you've changed everything. Maybe tonight, your fear made you do things you don't mean tomorrow, but I just-I-"

"Charles Xavier, I've caught feelings for you as well," she giggled, interrupting his ramblings before he got too ahead of himself. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be than here with you." Her soft voice caught in the air and Belle almost feared he hadn't heard her. It wasn't until his hand moved from her arm to her waist that she let out a sigh of relief, feeling him pull her closer to him. In the darkness, she made out the shapes on his face as he bumped his nose gently against hers. She pressed forward and let her lips press against his with a sense of caution and sensitivity.

"...what is it?" he breathed, his mumblings brushing her lips like a ghost.

"I just...I wish we had more time," she answered, pulling back just slightly. "I just found you and now I might lose you. What if-" His thumb pressed against her lips, the words on her lips being sucked back into her lungs as she held her breath.

"Belle, I can't promise what tomorrow will bring, but I know that we're together right now and I don't want to waste that…" Belle smiled weakly and moved closer, planting a peck on his lips.

"Me neither." With that, she pulled him into another kiss, this one smooth and passionate and longer than their previous one. As the moon reclaimed its place in the sky and shoed away the cloud cover that had been blocking its view, they fell to rest with their arms wrapped around one another and their feet tangled together, a layer of deep sleep gracing them in the silence of the night as their words and worries stilled.

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Tuesday and Friday Updates, although I am not punctual so it's loosely Bi-Weekly Updates at least.


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